REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's hopes of striking a new deal on repaying vast sums to Britain and the Netherlands were dealt a setback Tuesday when the island's Dutch creditors said no fresh negotiations were underway.

Iceland's president refused last week to sign a bill setting out terms for repaying more than $5 billion (3 billion pounds) owed to the two countries, forcing the government to call a public vote on the issue and threatening aid for the cash-strapped nation.

A spokesman for Iceland's prime minister said earlier the country had been holding "frantic talks" with ministers in the Nordics, Britain, the Netherlands and the European Union on Icesave hoping to avoid a divisive referendum on the issue.

But the Dutch said they still expected Iceland to stick to the Icesave deal it made in October.

"For us at this stage there is no renegotiation going on," a Dutch ministry spokeswoman said.

Britain said it was continuing to talk to the Icelandic government about resolving the situation.

"We expect Iceland to live up to its obligations," a British Treasury spokesman said.

Although Iceland clung onto the possibility of a new round of talks on the Icesave issue, the government admitted it was running short of time. The situation is both complex and delicate," he said, after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He said that as the situation stood now, there was an "overwhelming likelihood" that the Icesave legislation would be rejected in a referendum.

Skarphedinsson also said the Icelandic government had received support from various corners. He did not elaborate but said that support was coming from the Nordic countries and the president of the EU's ministerial council.

The prime minister's spokesman said Sigurdardottir was convinced the country must find a quick solution to repay Britain and the Netherlands money they gave to savers to cover deposits lost when Iceland's banks collapsed late in 2008.

But he said that Sigurdardottir was not optimistic that the country would be able to avoid a referendum.

"So, she is not giving any great hopes for this change of events, but at the same time it is worth to try and make a last effort to see if we can get something going," Haraldsson said.

Parliament has approved plans for a referendum no later than March 6.