EU envoys fail to agree 15th package of sanctions on Russia, diplomats say

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Representatives of European Union countries failed on Friday to approve a 15th package of sanctions on Russia, which included an extension for the Czech Republic to import Russian oil-based products coming mainly through Slovakia, diplomats said.

Two member states blocked the passage over a disagreement about extending the time given to European companies disinvesting from Russia, diplomats said. EU members will come back to the package later.

The package also includes sanctions on tankers carrying Russian oil.

Within the package was a debate on extending an EU exemption allowing the Czechs to continue importing diesel and other products derived from Russian oil and made in a Slovak refinery.

While the Czechs have said they were not looking for an extension allowing the import of Russian oil-based fuels, Slovakia has sought to keep the arrangement, which expired on Thursday, in place.

Slovak refiner Slovnaft, owned by Hungary's MOL, is a significant exporter of diesel made from Russian oil to the Czech Republic. Czech officials have said an extension for six months could be accepted.

The 27-nation EU banned most oil imports from Russia after the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary gained exemptions to sanctions because of a lack of other supply.

However, the Czech Republic has been upgrading a pipeline from Italy to Germany to transport more oil that way and wean itself completely off Russian crude by the second half of 2025.

(Reporting by Julia Payne in Brussels, Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw, and Jan Lopatka in Prague; writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Heinrich)