Gambia says it will severe all dialogue with the European Union (EU) should the 28-nation bloc use its aid budget to pile pressure on the West African country to overturn a new law against homosexuality.

On Sunday, Gambian Foreign Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa said the country’s President Yahya Jammeh would not allow foreign countries to use aid as a lever to impose policies on the Banjul government.

Last month, the Gambian leader signed a law that introduced the crime of aggravated homosexuality. The new law makes homosexual activities punishable with life in prison in some cases.

The EU is due to decide later this month whether to release 150 million euros (186 million dollars) in development aid to Gambia. The European aid has been the subject of debate over the African country’s human rights situation.

“Gambia’s government will not tolerate any negotiation on the issue of homosexuality with the EU or any international block or nation,” Jahumpa said, adding, “We are no longer going to entertain any dialogue with the EU either directly or through sub-regional, regional and international blocks to which we are members.”

The top Gambian diplomat further described homosexuality as “detrimental to human existence” and against African tradition, saying Banjul would work with other states on the continent to oppose it.

Gambia’s decision comes amid similar anti-homosexuality measures in many African countries despite Western pressure over gay rights.

In a similar move, Ugandan lawmakers are set to pass a revised anti-gay law by Christmas after an earlier version was revoked due to legal technicalities.

Anti-gay laws in Africa have drawn heavy criticism from Western governments, which have threatened to cut aid to those African states that pass laws persecuting homosexuals.