The attempted assassination of Slovakia's prime minister Roberto Fico "in such a complex international context" is "extremely worrying" and raises alarm levels, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday in an interview with Italy's Libero newspaper.
“It is extremely worrying that an EU country's head of government should suffer an attack and be so seriously injured," Tajani told Libero.
Fico was in intensive care a "very serious" but stable condition on Thursday, a hospital official said,
Fico, 59, was shot five times at close range on Thursday including in the stomach, allegedly by a 71-year-old former security guard and poet in the small town of Handlova.
""We need get a good understanding of the origin of this act and whether terrorism or something else is behind it," Tajani said.
"The fact that it happened in such a complicated international context is enough to ramp up alarm levels," Tajani said.
Slovak interior minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters on Wednesday that the attack was "politically motivated".
In an undated video posted on Facebook, Fico's suspected attacker was seen saying: "I do not agree with government policy", according to reports.
Fico is a divisive figure at home and controversial in the European Union for his calls to end military aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.
But Fico's attempted killing has drawn international condemnation and has been described as an attack on democracy.
