Day: December 27, 2024

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to stop electricity supplies to Ukraine. He intends to take this step as revenge for Kyiv’s refusal to transit Russian gas to Europe, according to Fico’s statement on Facebook.

“After January 1, we will assess the situation and possible reciprocal measures against Ukraine. If necessary, we will stop supplying electricity, which is crucial for Ukraine during power outages,” Fico said.

The Slovak Prime Minister justifies his threat by pointing to the significant impact that halting Russian gas flows will have on Europe’s economy.

According to him, the EU will face additional electricity costs of 120 billion euros ($125 billion) over the next two years due to the halt in Russian gas transportation.

Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian gas

Ukraine refused to extend the contract for the transit of Russian gas to Europe through its territory, which expires on December 31.

As early as October, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that Ukraine would not continue the transit of Russian gas in 2025.

At the same time, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains hopeful that he will manage to negotiate with Ukraine and the European Commission for the continued transit of Russian gas to Slovakia via Ukrainian territory. According to the government head, his country does not want to lose money.

The United States of America has imposed financial sanctions against the founder and honorary chairman of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, former prime minister, and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, according to the US Treasury Department.

According to the statement, all assets of Ivanishvili located in the United States or owned or controlled by US persons will be blocked. It is also noted that the decision to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili was made on the basis of Executive Order 14024, issued by President Joe Biden on April 15, 2021, in response to the harmful actions of Russia.

This means that it applies to individuals who commit acts that undermine democratic institutions and values, as well as engage in international corruption.

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States put Ivanishvili on the sanctions list for “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation.”

“Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream’s actions have eroded democratic institutions, enabled human rights abuses, and curbed the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia. Furthermore, they have derailed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future, a future the Georgian people overwhelmingly desire and the Georgian constitution mandates. The result has left Georgia vulnerable to Russia, which continues to occupy more than 20 percent of Georgia’s territory,” he said.

The situation in Georgia

At the end of October, large-scale protests broke out in Georgia following the parliamentary elections. The pro-Russian Georgian Dream party, which has been ruling the country for more than a decade, won the election.

However, observers then recorded numerous violations and attempts to falsify the vote. At the same time, a new president was elected in Georgia on December 14. For the first time, the president was elected not by citizens, but by the electoral college, where the Georgian Dream party has a majority.

The winner was declared a former football player with anti-Western views, Mikheil Kavelashvili. He was the only candidate nominated by the Georgian Dream.