The EU member states have failed to agree on the ninth package of anti-Russian sanctions, Reuters reports citing diplomatic sources. One of them did not rule out that a new version of the document will be ready by the evening of December 15, given that the last EU summit of the year will start on the 16th.

According to the agency’s sources, the negotiators are close to the final version, but Poland and several other countries continue to insist on their objections.

The disagreement centers on whether Brussels should make it easier to export Russian fertilizers through European ports, even if the companies that produce them are owned by Russian billionaires on the sanctions list. Some EU countries believe that fertilizer sanctions pose a threat to the food security of developing countries. In their opinion, the UN World Food Program should issue permits for fertilizer exports from Russia.

Poland and the Baltic states, for their part, are urging others not to delude themselves into thinking that the relaxation on Russian fertilizers will not be used as a loophole for Russian businessmen under sanctions, one diplomat told Reuters.