Peter Pellegrini s8k8. comworn in as Slovak president

BRATISLAVA -- Peter Pellegrini, Slovakia's former speaker of the National Council, is sworn in as Slovak President on Saturday.

He took the oath at the ceremonial meeting of the National Council, with which he assumed the mandate.

"We live in extremely difficult times, when many certainties are crumbling and many people feel that their world has turned upside down and their life is more than ever full of negative emotions, which unfortunately make it worse than before," said Pellegrini in his inaugural speech.

According to him, the recent assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico is the last blow to the confusion.

However, he promised to look for ways to give all people a sense of a cohesive community that can pull together and move their homeland to a better future.

Pellegrini won in the second round of the presidential election in early April.