Slovak PM Fico Makes First Public Appearance since Assassination Attempt

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)
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Slovak PM Fico Makes First Public Appearance since Assassination Attempt

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico appeared in public on Friday for the first time since a May assassination attempt.

Fico, who is recovering after being shot four times at close range in mid-May, spoke at a podium at an evening ceremony marking Saints Cyril and Methodius Day, a public holiday in Slovakia.

Fico, a four-time leftist prime minister who returned to power after winning an election last September, had been shot when he greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova, leaving him needing hours of surgery.

He has been recovering at home since the end of May.

His attacker, a man identified by prosecutors as 71-year old Juraj C., was detained and charged with attempted premeditated murder. Prosecutors this week upgraded the case to a terrorist attack.

The attack on Fico has highlighted the deep polarization of politics in the central European country of 5.4 million.

In a video message posted on Facebook in early June, Fico called his attacker an opposition activist, but said he felt no hatred toward the attacker and would not seek damages.

His return to power has marked a sharp shift in policy which critics say raises worries about the rule of law and media freedom, as well as hurting relations with the European Union and NATO member state's allies.

The detained man has, according to court documents, said he had wanted to hurt the prime minister, but not kill him, because he disagreed with policies including cancelling a special prosecutor's office and stopping state military aid to Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion.

The leftist-nationalist government has also faced opposition-led protests and has fought with Slovakia's mainstream media outlets.

This month, it began the transformation of the public broadcaster despite worries from opposition and media watchdogs that it will limit press freedom.



Russia Warns US, South Korea and Japan against Forming Security Alliance Targeting North Korea

Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)
Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)
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Russia Warns US, South Korea and Japan against Forming Security Alliance Targeting North Korea

Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)
Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s foreign minister on Saturday warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited his country's ally for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to North Korea’s eastern Wonsan city on Friday for a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui, The Associated Press.

Relations between Russia and North Korea have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying troops and ammunitions to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. That has raised concerns among South Korea, the US and others that Russia might also transfer to North Korea sensitive technologies that can increase the danger of its nuclear and missile programs.

After a meeting with Choe on Saturday, Lavrov accused the US, South Korea and Japan of what he called their military buildups around North Korea.

“We warn against exploiting these ties to build alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia,” he told reporters, according to Russia’s state Tass news agency.

The US, South Korea and Japan have been expanding or restoring their trilateral military exercises in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. On Friday, the three countries held a joint air drill involving US nuclear-capable bombers near the Korean Peninsula, as their top military officers met in Seoul and urged North Korea to cease all unlawful activities that threaten regional security.

North Korea views major US-led military drills as invasion rehearsals. It has long argued that it’s forced to develop nuclear weapons to defend itself from US military threats.

Lavrov said Russia understands North Korea’s decision to seek nuclear weapons.

“The technologies used by North Korea are the result of the work of its own scientists. We respect North Korea’s aspirations and understand the reasons why it is pursuing a nuclear development,” Lavrov said.

During their meeting, Choe reiterated that North Korea “unconditionally” supports Russia’s fight against Ukraine. She described ties between North Korea and Russia as “the invincible alliance.”

Lavrov said he repeated Russia’s gratitude for the contribution that North Korean troops made in efforts to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.

Wonsan city, the meeting venue, is where North Korea recently opened a mammoth beach resort that it says can accommodate nearly 20,000 people.

In his comments at the start of his meeting with Choe, Lavrov said that “I am sure that Russian tourists will be increasingly eager to come here. We will do everything we can to facilitate this, creating conditions for this, including air travel,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone is at the center of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost tourism as a way to improve his country’s troubled economy. But prospects for the biggest tourist complex in North Korea aren’t clear, as the country appears unlikely to fully reopen its borders and embrace Western tourists anytime soon.