Reuters reported on the new postponement of the adoption of the 18th package of EU anti-Russian sanctions.

The European Union (EU) countries were once again unable to adopt the 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions due to Slovakia's disagreement. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on July 16, citing EU diplomats.

Slovakia vetoed the approval of the sanctions at a meeting of EU ambassadors, three diplomats familiar with the negotiations said.

It is noted that Slovakia refuses to coordinate the adoption of sanctions until it receives guarantees that the EU's plan to phase out Russian gas will not harm it.

Right of veto: Slovakia intends to exchange the 18th package of sanctions for gas guarantees

The republic will appeal to the European Parliament to preserve fuel imports from the Russian Federation, and in the meantime, a delegation from Brussels is going to Bratislava for negotiations.

On the eve, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto said that the foreign ministers of the EU countries were unable to adopt the 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions at the meeting. According to him, during the meeting, a representative of "one of the largest and most influential European countries" said that the previous 17 packages of sanctions against Russia had proved ineffective.

The Politico newspaper reported on June 30 that the adoption of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia in the European Union was postponed due to disagreements with a number of countries. In turn, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stressed on June 26 that restrictions against the Russian Federation do not work, and the sanctions policy makes sense precisely when it really has an impact.