Published: 12:48, July 6, 2024
Slovak PM makes first public appearance since assassination attempt
By Xinhua
This frame grab made from handout video footage made available by the Slovak government shows Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico speaking for the first time since being shot and wounded in an assassination attempt against him in May, in Bratislava, Slovakia on June 5, 2024. (SLOVAK GOVERNMENT VIA AFP)

BRATISLAVA – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first appearance at a public event Friday after being attacked by a gunman in mid-May.

He delivered a speech at the Devin Castle in Bratislava, in celebrating a national holiday.

"Europe and Slovakia have never been so divided as they are today," Fico said.

READ MORE: Slovak PM Fico eyes return to work after shooting

He praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for visiting Kiev and Moscow. "I would have loved to join him, had my health condition enabled me to do so," he said.

According to him, there's never enough peace talks, peace initiatives in this regard.

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He also called for forming a bulwark against "senseless progressive and liberal ideologies that damage Slovakia”.

Fico sustained four gunshot wounds in an attack on May 15 when he greeted supporters after chairing a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova.