Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday. Expressing shock at the news, PM Modi said that he “strongly condemn this cowardly and dastardly act and wish PM Fico a speedy recovery.”

India stands in solidarity with the people of the Slovak Republic, Prime Minister Modi stated.

Fico was shot multiple times at close range when he was interacting with public at Handlova, a town in the Prievidza District in Slovakia. The man who fired at the Slovakian PM was arrested at the spot.

According to the BBC, Robert Fico was in surgery for over three hours on Wednesday evening. The BBC also reported that Defence Minister Robert Kalinak had said that the situation was bad, while Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba said Fico was not in a life-threatening situation.