Its prime minister Slovakia Robert Fitzo threatened to cut off electricity supply to Ukraineif Kiev stops the transfer of Russian natural gas in Central Europe, according to the Bloomberg agency.

“After January 1, we will assess the situation and possible reciprocal measures against Ukraine”Fitso said in a video posted on Facebook Friday night. “If necessary, we will stop the supply of electricity urgently needed by Ukraine during grid outages”.

Russian gas flowing through Ukraine to Europe will stop at the end of the year, when the current deal expires, if no alternative is found. Slovakia is one of the biggest remaining buyers and has stepped up pressure on Ukraine to find a solution. Ficho has threatened to retaliate if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t give him what he wants, and Friday’s remarks are his strongest yet.

Fitzo justified the threat by pointing out the significant impact that cutting off Russian gas flows would have on Europe’s economy. According to him, the European Union will face an extra €120 billion in energy costs over the next two years as a result of an outage.

“Stopping the transit of Russian natural gas from Ukraine is not just an empty political gesture. It is an extremely costly move, which we, in the European Union, will pay for.”Fitzo stated.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine “sees” an extension of the agreement on the same terms. Slovakia’s prime minister wants gas transit to be maintained beyond 2024 and says he has proposed alternatives that would not require contact between the two warring countries.