Bajatovic: Explosives found in Kanjiza a serious security threat

BELGRADE - Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic said on Monday the fact explosives had been found near the Turkish Stream international gas pipeline in the Kanjiza municipality, northern Serbia, was no political charade but a serious security threat, and noted that the relevant Serbian agencies had reacted in a timely manner based on security assessments.

"What charade? Fifteen to twenty days ago, we deployed the 72nd Brigade and the 252nd Missile Brigade and the entire 403 km stretch of the gas pipeline is secure. That shows clearly that there were serious assessments about a potential threat to the infrastructure facility that we refer to as the Turkish Stream or the Balkan Stream," Bajatovic told Pink TV.

He noted that securing the gas pipeline was very demanding as it included block valve stations installed every 30 km of the route.

A blast of no more than a few kilograms of explosives could have caused major damage resulting in an automatic shutdown of the gas pipeline, whose reconstruction would be technically demanding and time-consuming, Bajatovic said.

He said an attack on the gas pipeline would not have targeted Serbia and consumers in the country, but energy stability in the region.

"I assume this was not aimed at Serbia. My political assessment is that it was aimed at Hungary, because Serbia would not have been left without gas in this case. The goal was for Hungary and Slovakia to be left without gas, which would cause economic and political consequences, especially in the context of the Hungarian elections," Bajatovic said, adding that the scenario could have affected Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's position.