The Hungarian Prime Minister described the situation as extremely serious and confirmed that Hungarian soldiers are patrolling the gas pipeline on Hungarian territory.
“Before, everyone was talking about oil, but if the gas pipeline is blocked, it will have even more serious consequences,” Orbán stated at a press conference held on the Hungarian side of the border. The head of the Hungarian government thanked the Serbian authorities for preventing a terrorist attack on the gas pipeline.
When asked by journalists that the Hungarian opposition and several experts indicate that behind the sabotage action is a Russian conspiracy in cooperation with the Hungarian government, Orbán responded mockingly. “And the Martians are behind it,” he said. He pointed out that Europe is facing an energy crisis and this issue should not be the topic of the election campaign. “This is a serious matter, no drama. The energy infrastructure will be at risk not only now, but also in the coming weeks,” added Orbán.
The Hungarian Prime Minister pointed out that the investigation of the sabotage action is fully within the competence of the Serbian authorities. “I would not further damage Hungarian-Ukrainian relations by blaming any country, let’s say Ukraine, without knowing the facts. However, what is happening now fits into the sequence of events and Ukraine has the capabilities to do something similar,” said Orbán, recalling the damage to the NordStream gas pipeline.
Migrant with military training
The head of the Serbian military secret service VBA, Djuro Jovanić, told a press conference on Sunday evening that the placement of an explosive near the TurkStream gas pipeline was preceded by information that “a person from the ranks of migrants who has military training will try to sabotage the gas pipeline infrastructure”.
He strongly rejected “disinformation that the Serbian army or its members worked for some other third party so that Ukrainian explosives were found and Ukraine was accused of it”.
During the investigation, according to Jovanić, the following items were found: hermetically sealed explosives, specially packed capsules intended for transport, detonators and equipment for preparing explosives to carry out a diversionary action. The markings on the explosives clearly show that they were made in the USA. “The fact that someone made explosives does not mean that he is the perpetrator or the customer,” he emphasized.
