Hungary alleges plot to blow up gas pipeline ahead of election
Why it matters: The discovery could impact Hungary's crucial election next Sunday, potentially affecting Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence Council after explosives were discovered near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia, which supplies Russian gas to Hungary.
- Serbian President Alexander Vucic, a close Orban ally, informed the Hungarian leader of the discovery of 'explosives of devastating power' by the Serbian army near the village of Tresnjevac, about 20km from the Hungarian border.
- Opposition leader Peter Magyar accused Orban of 'panic-mongering' orchestrated by 'Russian advisers,' while Hungarian security experts had previously warned of a possible 'false flag' operation to boost Orban's Fidesz party or provide an excuse to postpone the upcoming election.
- Balint Pasztor, president of the Vojvodina Hungarian Association and an Orban ally, suggested the attack was planned to 'bring down Viktor Orban' by targeting Hungary's supply lines, reinforcing Orban's narrative of a 'Kyiv-Brussels-Berlin' axis conspiring against Hungary's cheap Russian fuel.
- Hungary receives 5-8 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually via the TurkStream pipeline, which is also vital for Slovakia, and Orban has made hostility to Ukraine and the preservation of cheap Russian energy central to his election campaign.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called an emergency meeting after explosives were found near a crucial Russian gas pipeline in Serbia, just days before a critical election where his party is trailing. While Orban's allies suggest a plot to destabilize Hungary and remove him, opposition leader Peter Magyar dismisses it as 'panic-mongering' orchestrated by Russian advisors, with security experts warning of a potential 'false flag' operation to sway the vote or even postpone the election.
