The European Union again failed to approve a new package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, as Slovakia continued to oppose them, four EU diplomats told Reuters.

Slovakia vetoed the approval of the sanctions during a meeting of EU countries’ ambassadors, three of the diplomats familiar with the talks said.

Two of the diplomats said Malta had also raised an objection.

Slovakia’s government has said it will not approve the sanctions before the country receives more guarantees that it would not be harmed by a separate EU plan to phase out Russian gas.

The sanctions would be the EU’s 18th package of such measures against Russia over its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.