Orbán convened the National Security Council following an attempted sabotage attack on a gas pipeline in Serbia
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced the convening of an emergency meeting of the Defense Council in connection with an attempt to sabotage a gas pipeline on the territory of neighboring Serbia.
The meeting is scheduled for noon on Sunday, April 5, to assess threats to national security and the stability of the country’s energy supply.
The head of the Hungarian government stated that he is in constant contact with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić regarding the investigation into this incident.
The parties are coordinating the actions of law enforcement agencies to protect the shared critical infrastructure that supplies the entire region with natural gas.
Viktor Orbán confirmed that Serbian special services discovered “a powerful explosive device and the equipment necessary to detonate it” at the facility.
The discovery indicates a meticulously planned sabotage operation aimed at completely halting gas transit to Hungary and northern Serbia.
The emergency meeting of the Defense Council aims to develop additional measures to protect Hungarian sections of the pipeline and storage facilities.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the security of energy resources is a national priority, especially given the current instability in global markets.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the incident occurred just one week before Hungary’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for April 12.
The government views the sabotage attempt as a direct threat to sovereignty and an attempt to destabilize the internal situation in the country ahead of the vote.
Hungarian authorities have already stepped up security at strategic facilities near the border, deploying additional police and military units.
Viktor Orbán assured citizens that the state has sufficient resources to prevent any attempts at energy blackmail or the physical destruction of networks.
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