Slovakian PM Robert Fico takes first trip outside capital after assassination attempt

YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico took his first trip outside the capital on Monday since resuming his duties after an assassination attempt, The Associated Press reports.

Fico visited a farm in Slovenska Nova Ves, northeast of the capital of Bratislava, along with agriculture minister Richard Takáč to check the grain harvest.

Fico said in a brief statement that Slovakia was not ready to lift a ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and thanked farmers for their work.

He was using a walking stick and did not take any questions from the media, the report adds.

It was his first official trip outside the capital since recovering from the May 15 attack in which he was shot in the abdomen as he greeted supporters in the town of Handlova, 140 kilometers northeast of the capital.

Fico made his first public appearance since the assassination attempt on July 5, when he gave a speech for a national holiday.