jasdooit

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated on Sunday morning that military and police forces discovered explosives positioned close to a pipeline supplying gas to Serbia and Hungary.

He mentioned that “two big bundles of explosives along with detonators” were discovered inside backpacks in Kanjiza, northern Serbia, “a few hundred meters away from the gas pipeline.”

The Balkan Stream pipeline is a continuation of the TurkStream project, delivering Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary.

Vučić mentioned that he had updated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “on the preliminary findings of the investigation conducted by our military and police agencies regarding the threat to critical gas infrastructure.”

Orbán verified that the two leaders had communicated, and mentioned he had convened an “extraordinary defense council” in Hungary for Sunday afternoon.

No information given regarding possible reasons

No information was given about who might have placed the explosives close to the gas pipeline, or the reasons behind it. Rather, Vučić mentioned there were “some indications” that he chose not to explain further.

The latest updates arrive as the reliability of gas pipeline systems has been under public scrutiny. The Druzhba pipeline, an older system that transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, has been responsible for aconflict between Hungary and Ukraine.

It sustained damage during a Russian attack at the end of January and remains unrepaired, although both Hungary and Slovakia claim Ukraine is exploiting the situation for political purposes.

The government of Orbán has consistently claimed that Ukraine is attempting to provoke an energy crisis before Hungary’s general election on 12 April, aiming to weaken his administration.

In contrast to Hungary, Serbia is not part of the European Union and is seeking membership. The capital city relies significantly on Russian gas supplies, importing approximately six million cubic meters daily at about half the standard market rate.