Slovakia's prime minister not in life-threatening condition – deputy PM

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is no longer in a life-threatening condition after being shot several times, the deputy prime minister told BBC.

According to deputy PM Tomas Taraba, Fico's surgery had gone "well" and he was "not in [a] life-threatening situation at this moment".

"As far as I know, the operation went well and I guess that at the end he will survive," Taraba told BBC.

He added that the prime minister was shot "from very close" and that "one bullet went through the stomach and the second one hit the joint".

According to the report, earlier the defence minister said the prime minister was "fighting for his life" after being gravely injured in an attack in the small town of Handlova.

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estoka described it as a politically motivated assassination attempt.

A suspect was detained at the scene of the shooting. Police have not yet identified the alleged suspect. Unconfirmed local media reports say he was a 71-year-old writer and political activist.

A video being widely circulated on Slovak media purports to feature the suspect saying he disagrees with government policy, BBC adds.

After five years in opposition, Fico’s party won parliamentary elections last September and he returned to power in Slovakia. He had previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018.