Incident prompts political scrutiny across Hungary as Viktor Orbán trails in polls before next Sunday’s election
Serbia has said it found “explosives of devastating power” near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond, sparking claims by Hungary’s leading opposition candidate of a possible “false flag” operation aimed at influencing the country’s elections.
On Sunday, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said he had been informed by Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, of the discovery near an extension of the TurkStream pipeline, which transports Russian gas through the Balkans to central and eastern Europe.
“An investigation is under way,” Orbán said on social media, adding that he had convened an emergency meeting of the country’s defence council.
The incident comes one week before Hungarians are due to cast their votes in a pivotal parliamentary election, in which Orbán’s 16-year hold on power is facing an unprecedented challenge from Péter Magyar, a former top member of the ruling Fidesz party.
The election has pitted two versions of Hungary’s future against each other, as Orbán and Fidesz seek to convince voters that the war in Ukraine poses a deep threat to the country and that Orbán is best placed to handle this risk, while Magyar and his Tisza party urge voters to focus on economic stagnation, fraying social services and corruption.
Vučić said on Sunday that the Serbian army and police had found two backpacks containing “two large...
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