Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called an emergency defence council meeting yesterday after powerful explosives were found near a pipeline in Serbia that carries Russian gas to the country.
The incident prompted political scrutiny in Hungary at a sensitive time days before a national election, with Orban’s party trailing in opinion polls.
Orban said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a close ally, had informed him by phone about the discovery outside the town of Kanjiza, near Hungary’s border with Serbia.
“Our units found an explosive of devastating power,” Vucic said in a post on Instagram. “I told PM Orban that we would keep him updated on the investigation.”
Officials in Budapest and Belgrade did not respond to requests for comment about the incident, which comes before pivotal elections on April 12 in Hungary where nationalist Orban is fighting to hold onto his more than 16-year grip on power.
A former Hungarian intelligence official told Reuters there had been discussions in Hungarian security circles over the past days about a precise plan for a ‘false-flag’ operation impacting the pipeline in Serbia as part of an effort to influence the Hungarian vote.
Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party also raised doubts about the incident, saying it appeared aimed at boosting Orban’s electoral prospects.
“Several people have publicly indicated that something will ‘accidentally’ happen at the gas pipeline in Serbia at Easter, a week before the Hungarian elections. And so it happened,” Magyar said in a statement.
In a Facebook post after the defence council meeting, Orban suggested the incident related to an attempt to blow up the pipeline, which transports Russian gas through the Balkans to Central and Eastern Europe.
“According to information that we have....there was an act of sabotage prepared,” Orban said after the meeting, adding that both countries have strengthened the protection of the pipeline.
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