Hungary's Provocation Regarding the Turkish Stream: Expert Reveals Details and Consequences

Igor Semivolos, the director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, provided insights in an interview with Radio NV regarding the situation surrounding Hungary's attempts to simulate an explosion on the Turkish Stream pipeline in Serbia. According to him, this provocation, which aimed to destabilize the regional situation, turned out to be unsuccessful, as Serbia did not fall for the provocations and demonstrated its independence in decision-making.

“If we return to the situation regarding the attempted simulation of the explosion on the Turkish Stream pipeline in Serbia, it should be understood that Russian political technologists have long been sitting in Budapest, and Ukrainian intelligence services have long warned about the possibility of provocations in which these specialists have considerable experience, especially ahead of elections. The fact that this happened is not surprising; it is a demonstration of the Russian footprint, the Russian signature in this, so to speak, dirty game. I hope that Serbia's adequate response and their unwillingness to play by Moscow's and Budapest's rules indicate that this provocation has failed,” Semivolos noted during the Radio NV broadcast.

The expert emphasized that the dynamics of relations between Kyiv and Belgrade are positive, which he believes is due to the active engagement of the Ukrainian embassy in Serbia. “I think it is important when both sides hear and listen to each other, and see a common interest. In recent months, I have had the feeling that such a common interest has emerged. There is more contact, more interaction, and more understanding, as far as I can see,” he added.

Semivolos also pointed out that Moscow is nervous about this situation, as Russian intelligence services are “quite intensively” trying to undermine the activities of the Ukrainian embassy in Serbia. On April 3, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that Ukraine allegedly attacked the Turkish Stream pipeline again. According to him, this is a “very crude attack on Hungary's sovereignty.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in turn, reported that on April 5, explosive devices were discovered in the municipality of Kanizha, near the gas infrastructure connecting Serbia to Hungary. He noted that “if there had been a gas shutdown there, Hungary would have been without gas, and we in northern Serbia would have been too.”

“There are certain traces that I cannot talk about. It is a large area, a large lake, so the search lasted a long time, and helicopter units provided significant assistance. But it is clear that the world, or rather geopolitical games, will not leave us in peace, and that is why we must demonstrate the highest level of combat readiness,” Vucic said.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tikhiy assured that Ukraine has no connection to the explosives found near the Turkish Stream pipeline in Serbia. He suggested that Russia might be involved, considering it was likely a Russian operation under a false flag, carried out as part of Moscow's interference in Hungary's elections.

The leader of the Hungarian opposition party Tisza, Peter Magyar, speculated that the incident involving explosives near the Turkish Stream pipeline in Serbia could be a planned “false flag” operation to disrupt the parliamentary elections scheduled for next week. He pointed out that reports have been coming from various sources for several weeks that due to the declining ratings of the ruling Fidesz party, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to “cross another line,” using Serbia and Russia for this purpose.

He stated that if Orban uses the incident with the explosives for electoral purposes, it would mean that it was a “pre-planned operation.” Serbian authorities reported that their intelligence services determined that Ukraine was not involved in the explosives found near the Turkish Stream pipeline.

“Disinformation indicates that the Serbian Armed Forces and their servicemen will work for some other or third party, finding Ukrainian explosives and blaming Ukraine for this. This is not true,” emphasized Djuro Jovanic, director of Serbia's Military Security Agency.

He also revealed that the markings on the explosives indicate that they were manufactured in the United States. This situation highlights the complexity of geopolitical games in the region and the importance of international cooperation to ensure stability.