Slovakia’s populist leader has rejected 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.

Slovakia rejects European Commission plans to phase out Russian gas and other energy imports, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday, adding the measures were "in this form unacceptable" to the Slovak government and would impact EU energy prices.

Slovakia has criticized the European Commission's roadmap to phase out Russian energy imports by 2027, calling it "economic suicide" that would hurt the EU more than Russia.