'I forgive him': Slovakia's PM Robert Fico says he felt 'no hatred' towards his attacker

Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico posted a speech online on Wednesday in his first appearance since he was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt three weeks ago.

In a pre-recording speech posted on his Facebook ahead of the European Parliament election, Fico said the attack caused serious damage to his health and that “it will be a small miracle if I return to work in several weeks.”

"It's time to take the first step, which is forgiveness. I feel no hatred towards the strangers who shot me," Slovakian PM said.

"I will not take any active legal action against him or seek damage compensation. I forgive him and let him sort out what he did and why he did it in his own head. In the end, it is obvious that he was merely a messenger of the evil and political hatred that a politically unsuccessful and frustrated opposition has developed to unmanageable proportions in Slovakia."

Fico has been recovering from multiple wounds after being shot in the abdomen as he greeted supporters on May 15 in the town of Handlova, about 140 kilometres northeast of the capital, Bratislava. An assailant was arrested.

Fico said he should be back to work on the turn of June and July, and that he felt “no hatred” towards his attacker. “I forgive him," he said.