Fico reiterated his intention to maintain a foreign policy approach oriented toward “all four corners of the world,” describing it as “a policy based on respect for international law and non-interference in the internal affairs of others.

Slovakia will consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as halting back-up electricity supplies after Jan. 1 if Kyiv, as expected, stops the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday.

Even as Russian troops and tanks moved into Ukraine in February 2022, Russian natural gas kept flowing through the country’s pipeline network — set up when Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union — to Europe,

Austria has insisted it is well prepared for the stoppage, but Slovakia has threatened to cut electricity supplies to neighboring Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday of opening a "second energy front" against Ukraine on the orders of Russia.

On New Year's Day, the transfer of Russian gas through Ukraine has ended after Kyiv had refused to extend a long-running contract due to Russia's war against the country.