Hungary places TurkStream pipeline under military protection after Serbia explosives scare

Hungary will place the entire Hungarian section of the TurkStream pipeline under military protection, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced after Sunday’s extraordinary Defence Council meeting convened by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

According to Szijjártó, soldiers will now guard the gas pipeline, including all transfer points, along its full Hungarian route from the Serbia–Hungary border to the Slovak border, after Serbian authorities earlier discovered suspicious objects and reportedly explosive materials near the pipeline close to Oromhegyes near Kanjiža. The large-scale Serbian operation involved police, military units, drones, thermal cameras, helicopters and tracker dogs.

Speaking after the Defence Council session, Szijjártó linked the foiled incident to what he described as a series of attacks on Russian oil and gas supply routes to Europe, arguing that the physical protection of TurkStream must now be strengthened “more decisively than ever before” across its entire European section. He added that he had already consulted with the Serbian, Turkish and Russian energy ministers, and the four sides agreed to maintain close coordination to secure the pipeline.

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Featured image: illustration, depositphotos.com