Orban flew to the border near Szeged by helicopter, accompanied by the foreign minister. Peter Sijarto.
Orban, while touring the gas pipeline near Kiskundoroşmi in the Szeged area, stated that the situation is extremely serious and that, for now, Hungary's gas supply is not threatened, but that we need to be very careful.
"The situation is extremely serious. We talked about oil earlier, we were under blockade. We will make up for that from elsewhere, but the gas pipeline is an even bigger 'artery'," Orban said at a press conference in Kiskundoroşma.
As he pointed out, if this "umbilical cord is cut, the Hungarian economy will come to a standstill."
Orban stated that the Hungarian armed forces are capable of providing continuous protection for the gas pipeline.
Asked who might have been preparing to sabotage the pipeline, Orban replied: “Let’s wait for the facts, the Serbs will provide them to us.”
"The Ukrainians have the ability to do this, but we don't know if they are behind this action," he added, recalling that after the Nord Stream explosion, they also said it was the Russians, but then it turned out that it was the Ukrainians.
Speaking about the difference in positions between the EU and Hungary on the issue of Russian energy, Orban said that the whole of Europe is heading towards an extremely serious energy crisis and that the coming days will be decisive.
"The Hungarian position is that we should end sanctions on Russian energy. The other side is of the opinion that this is not necessary and that sanctions on Russian energy should be maintained," Orban underlined.
As he stated, he would not be surprised if news of further threats arrived in the coming days and assessed that the threat to Hungarian infrastructure would remain relevant in the coming period.
He also said that the future lies in Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia agreeing to help each other.
"We have special obligations to these two countries," he said.
Orban assessed that yesterday's incident with the gas pipeline was not related to the campaign, as it did not affect the elections, but rather Hungary's energy security, and that the campaign should not be confused with governance.
Ukraine denies involvement
Serbian authorities announced on Sunday that explosives of high destructive power were found near Kanjiža near a gas pipeline, and that the target was a gas pipeline that supplies Hungary with gas from Russia.
Director of the Military Security Agency Djuro Jovanic He said at a press conference that the service had previously had information that some militarily trained migrants would try to sabotage the gas infrastructure, and that the explosives found were manufactured in the USA.
After a meeting of the Hungarian Defense Council on Sunday, it was decided that the Hungarian section of the gas pipeline will now be guarded by the military.
Hungarian Minister Szijjártó accused Ukraine of being behind the planned sabotage, and the same accusations came from Moscow from a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Maria ZakharovaShe said Ukraine is seeking to deprive Hungary of its sovereignty “by trying to prevent Hungary from receiving high-quality resources at reasonable prices.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has rejected "any attempt to falsely link" Ukraine to explosives found near a gas pipeline in Serbia.
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