BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters in the Slovak capital held banners and chanted slogans on Friday accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of dragging the country towards Russia after he met President Vladimir Putin last month amid a gas dispute with Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Slovakia that Russia's Gazprom would find alternative ways to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wasn’t ruling out the resumption of gas through Ukraine after a deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired at the beginning of this year.

Slovakia may halt humanitarian aid and emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine and leverage its veto power in EU matters should Kyiv not resume gas flows through its territory, Prime Minister Robert Fico said in Brussels today.

Slovakia is weighing retaliation against Ukraine including withholding aid if a solution is not found to Kyiv's decision to shut off Russian gas, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday after talks with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen.

Slovakia will continue to supply Kiev with electricity. This was stated by the state operator of the country's electrical systems SEPS, according to the telegram channel "DW ** main thing".

Slovakia has arranged alternative gas sources and routes, but Fico has argued that the end of Ukraine's transit of Russian gas meant that Slovakia lost its own transit revenue and