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Belgrade rejects Viktor Orbán's claims of sabotage linked to Kiev
Serbian authorities say Ukraine is not behind an incident involving explosives near a gas pipeline with Hungary.
Serbia's top military leaders said Ukraine was not behind an incident involving explosives near a gas pipeline, contradicting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who strongly implied that Kiev was involved.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a close ally of Orban, said on Sunday that authorities had found "an explosive with destructive power" near a pipeline carrying Russian gas from Serbia to Hungary, a week before Hungary's parliamentary elections on April 12.
Orban said Sunday, after an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council, that Serbian authorities had uncovered a “sabotage operation” in Serbia’s Vojvodina and apparently linked it to Ukraine. He said Ukraine had “worked for years to disconnect Europe from Russian energy” and posed “a direct threat to Hungary,” although he stopped short of formally accusing Kiev.
However, Duro Jovanić, director of Serbia's Military Security Agency (VBA), stated on Sunday evening that "it is not true that Ukrainians tried to organize" the plot, which involved "specially packaged, hermetically sealed explosives and detonating caps."
"The one who manufactured the explosive does not mean that he is also the one who ordered or executed it," he said, adding that "the notes on the explosive show that it was manufactured in the USA."
Orban's claims of sabotage were also met with skepticism by his main opponent in Sunday's election, Peter Magyar, who aims to oust the pro-Russian prime minister from power.
Magyar said that Orban, who has made Hungary's energy security and the bitter conflict with Kiev central to his campaign, may be conducting a false flag operation with the "help of Serbian and Russian actors" due to falling support for his party, Fidesz.
“If Viktor Orbán and his propaganda use this provocation for campaign purposes, this will be an open admission that we are dealing with a planned 'false flag' operation,” he added.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman "categorically" denied any responsibility and criticized attempts to "falsely link Ukraine" to the issue, adding that the alleged plot is "most likely a Russian false flag operation" ahead of the election.
According to polls by Politico, Orbán and his Fidesz party are significantly behind the opposition Tisza party led by Magyar in next Sunday's elections.
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