Slovakia's leader rejects an EU plan to halt Russian natural gas imports by the end of 2027

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist leader on Wednesday blasted a European Union plan to halt imports of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027 to deprive President Vladimir Putin of revenue that helps fuel the war in Ukraine.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive branch, will present a detailed plan next month. It will seek to ban new gas contracts with Russia by the end of this year and phase out existing ones still in use in the 27-nation EU by the end of 2027.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said the plan is “absolutely unacceptable” for his country and that his government was ready to veto it. He said the move would be harmful for Slovakia and the entire EU, because the price of gas will increase as a result.

Slovakia has a gas delivery deal with Russia that expires in 2034, and Fico said that he would seek compensations for damages, if the plan proceeds.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is pressing ahead with the plan, told EU lawmakers that Russia has proven time and again that it is not a reliable energy supplier.

“Dependency on Russia is not only bad for our security, but also for our economy. Our energy prices cannot be dictated by a hostile neighbor,” she told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Fico also rejected a proposal to halt imports of oil and nuclear fuel from Russia to the European Union.

Hungary and Slovakia — whose leaders are considered to be Putin’s closest allies in Europe — have blocked EU military assistance to Ukraine and have been expected to oppose the European Commission’s gas plans.

Fico, a divisive figure at home and abroad, returned to power in 2003 after his leftist Smer (Direction) party won a parliamentary election on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform. Known for his pro-Russia views, he has openly challenged the EU’s policies over Ukraine.

He is set to become the only EU leader to travel to Moscow for festivities on Friday marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. It will be his second trip to Moscow since December.

His government has faced vocal protests against its pro-Russian stance and other policies.

FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Feb. 21, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s former president, Muhammadu Buhari, who led Nigeria twice as a military head of state and a democratic president, has died aged 82, his press secretary said Sunday.

Buhari died in London on Sunday afternoon, where he was receiving medical treatment in recent weeks. When he was elected in 2015, on his fourth attempt, he became the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election.

He led Africa's most populous nation until 2023, when he was succeeded by Bola Tinubu, also from the All Progressives Congress.

Buhari's presidency was plagued by extremist killings, a plunging economy, and burgeoning corruption. He faced similar circumstances when he first took power in 1983, after a military coup.

Tinubu dispatched the vice president to bring his body home from London and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff as the country enters a mourning period.

Coming from Nigeria’s largely Muslim north, the lanky, austere Buhari rode on a wave of goodwill off the back of popular anger with the government to be elected president in 2015. He had vowed to end the killings and clean up rampant corruption in one of the continent’s largest economies and oil producers.

However, by the end of his eight-year tenure, that goodwill toward him had faded into discontent. More Nigerians had died as a result of growing insecurity while corruption spread across the government

FILE - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, left, and opposition candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, hug after signing a renewal of their pledge to hold peaceful elections, at a hotel in the capital Abuja, Nigeria Thursday, March 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Adrian Dennis/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari speaks to the media after casting his vote in his hometown of Daura, in northern Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)