Serbian president: Explosives found near gas pipeline to Hungary

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Sunday morning that army and police found explosives that had been placed near a pipeline that carries gas to Serbia and Hungary.

He said that “two large packages of explosives with detonators” were found inside backpacks in northern Serbia’s Kanjiza, “a few hundred metres from the gas pipeline”.

The Balkan Stream pipeline is an extension of the TurkStream pipeline, and transfers Russian gas to both Serbia and Hungary.

Vučić said he had informed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “of the initial results of the investigation by our military and police authorities into the threat to critical gas infrastructure.”

Orbán confirmed the two leaders had spoken, and said he had called an “extraordinary defence council” in Hungary for Sunday afternoon.

No details provided on potential motives

There were no details provided on who may have placed the explosives near the gas pipeline, and why. Instead, Vučić said there were “certain traces” which he was unwilling to elaborate on.

The latest news comes at a time when the integrity of gas pipeline infrastructure has been in the headlines. The Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, a separate pipeline that carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, has been the cause of a dispute between Hungary and Ukraine.

It was damaged in a Russian strike in late January and has yet to be repaired, but both Hungary and Slovakia accuse Ukraine of using the issue for political gain.

Orbán’s government has repeatedly alleged that Ukraine is trying to trigger an energy crisis ahead of Hungary’s 12 April general election in an effort to undermine his administration.

Unlike Hungary, Serbia is not an EU member state, and is a candidate for joining the bloc. Belgrade is heavily dependent on Russian gas. It imports around six million cubic metres per day at roughly half the market price.

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