Fico threatens to halt electricity supplies to Ukraine if it does not agree to gas transit terms.

He mentioned this in a video on Facebook, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Fico states that Ukraine's decision to halt the transit of Russian gas starting January 1 is "not just an empty political gesture," but also "an extremely costly step," which he claims will be paid for by the European Union.

“After January 1, we will assess the situation and potential reciprocal measures against Ukraine. If necessary, we will stop supplying electricity, which is critically needed in Ukraine during power outages,” said the Slovak Prime Minister.

Recall that back in August, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine does not intend to extend the contract with Russia for gas transit, which expires on January 1, 2025. However, Ukraine has been discussing the transit of Azerbaijani gas to the EU.

This has caused outrage in Slovakia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico personally traveled to Kyiv to persuade the Ukrainian government to extend the transit of Russian gas.

One of Fico's arguments was that if Ukraine "wants to maintain its infrastructure, it must use it." He also noted that both countries would benefit from the transit, as Slovakia would pay Ukraine transit fees.

However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal explained that imposing sanctions on Russian gas and depriving the Russian Federation of the ability to finance the war through it is “a strategic goal for Ukraine”.

Following this, Fico stated that "if Zelensky does not give us our gas, it could lead to a serious conflict." He proposed a “trick” to ensure that by the time Russian gas reaches Ukrainian territory, it would be “no longer Russian, but Hungarian”.