A meeting of European Union government representatives, scheduled for Friday evening to discuss a Group of Seven proposal to cap Russian seaborne oil prices, was canceled, EU diplomats said.
On Thursday, European Union governments were split on the level at which to cap Russian oil prices to curb Moscow's ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock.
The EU diplomats, who declined to be identified, said it was not clear how near both sides were to an agreement.
"The latest is that Poland, Estonia and Lithuania are trying to outdo each other on their toughness on the price cap," one of the diplomats close to the talks said, adding that Poland wanted to link agreement of the price cap to a new package of sanctions against Russia.
"Meanwhile Malta, Greece and Cyprus are in it for the money, whichever way they can get it - through a higher cap, or compensation, etc.