Fitzo threatened Ukraine with halting humanitarian aid because of gas decision

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo on Thursday, January 9, threatened Kiev to stop humanitarian aid because of the decision to stop the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.

"We can stop all humanitarian aid to Ukraine, decide on a significant reduction or complete withdrawal of benefits for Ukrainian war refugees in Slovakia or cut off electricity supply in emergency situations," the portal Tvnoviny.sk quoted him as saying.

The politician noted that Slovakia, as a member of the European Union, has the right of veto, which it can use to block some decisions taken in the European Union (EU).

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The day before, Hungarian Foreign and Foreign Economic Relations Minister Péter Szijjártó said that it was unacceptable for Ukraine to stop transit of Russian gas and crude oil. The minister drew attention to the fact that such a decision by Kiev contradicts its aspirations to join the EU.

On January 7, Fitzo said that European Commission talks on gas transit will be held in Brussels on January 9 to discuss the unilateral decision of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky (his term expired in May 2024) to stop fuel supplies. Ukrainian representatives will not attend this meeting.

Slovak MEP Monika Benova said on January 8 that Kiev's refusal to participate in these talks was a sign of weakness of the Ukrainian president.

In late August, the Ukrainian president said that the country would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin later said the country was not giving up gas transit through Ukraine.

On January 1, 2025, Gazprom said it would suspend gas supplies through Ukraine. On the same day, Fitzo said that this would have drastic consequences for the EU, but not for Russia.