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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made a video address for the first time after the assassination attempt against him, BGNES reported.
Fico said he forgives 71-year-old poet Juraj Chintula, who shot him with four bullets on May 15 in Handlova.
The 14-minute Facebook video, which also has English subtitles, is titled "I forgive and warn".
"It's time for me to take the first step, and that's forgiveness. I have no hatred for the stranger who shot me. I will not take active legal action against him or seek compensation. I forgive him and let him figure out what he did and why he did it in his own head. In the end, it is obvious that he was only a messenger of evil and political hatred, which the politically failed and disillusioned opposition has developed in Slovakia to unmanageable proportions," the prime minister said and expressed hope that he would be able to return to work at the end of June or early July.
In the video, the prime minister is sitting on a chair, wearing a light-colored shirt and is significantly thinner than before the assassination attempt. He praised and thanked the medical team in Banska Bistrica.
The prime minister lashed out at "anti-government" media and NGOs and accused them of downplaying the assassination attempt on him.
"On May 15, a Slovak opposition activist tried to kill me because of my political views. They say that this is an attack by a lone madman, that there are no links between him and the opposition, that the damage to my health is not serious. "I have always kept my private life private, so even now I will limit myself to saying that the attack caused serious damage to my health, repeated operations, a lot of pain and suffering," he stated.
"For several months now, I have publicly reported that the probability of a politician being assassinated by the government in Slovakia is approaching 100%. I said it publicly in the media and at press conferences, I said it to all the ambassadors of the EU and NATO countries in Slovakia, I also opened the topic at several bilateral meetings with my partners. A few weeks ago, at a cabinet meeting, I even asked the ministers not to enter the crowd. My political experience of 32 years has warned me," Fico added.
The attitude towards Ukraine will not change
The Prime Minister of Slovakia did not fail to comment on Ukraine and the position of his government towards Russian aggression. He reiterated that he refused to provide military aid from state resources and preferred "peace to war". According to him, the war in Ukraine has guaranteed the one-sided opinion - "who does not support Ukraine is called a Russian agent".
Fico criticized the Party of European Socialists (PES), which last year excluded the Slovak parties "Smer" and "Hlas" precisely because of their position on Ukraine, after they formed a coalition government.
"Opposition to a politician with whom you disagree is not resolved by shooting him. On the contrary. I would like to express my belief that all the pain that I have gone through and am going through will serve for something good," Robert also said Fico. | BGNES
