The question of energy exports from Russia has high relevance in the region and from the EU perspective.
Russian Gazprom says that a dispute over debts means that deliveries of natural gas to Moldova will be completely stopped, starting from the morning of January 1.
The announcement comes at the same time as Ukraine is threatening not to extend the current agreement that allows Russian gas deliveries to EU countries via Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj accused Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico last week of helping Russia's President Vladimir Putin to finance the aggressive war against Ukraine through the import of Russian gas.
On Saturday, the Slovak Prime Minister responded to Zelenskyj's accusation:
After January 1, we will consider the situation and the possibility of retaliatory measures against Ukraine, he says in a clip published on social media, according to the media company Politico.
If it is unavoidable, we will stop the electricity supply, which Ukraine is in urgent need of in the event of disruptions to the power grid.
Slovakia's government is often described as Russia-friendly and populist, and the country's President Peter Pellegrini has stated that Ukraine must be prepared to lose parts of its territory in order to achieve peace.
