Taking a swipe at Germany, the prime minister has claimed his nation would not remain passive if its vital interests were threatened
FILE PHOTO: Gas leaking from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline near Bornholm, Denmark on September 27, 2022 © Danish Defence / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Unlike Germany, Hungary would not remain silent if its energy supply routes were sabotaged, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Tucker Carlson in an interview released on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Discussing the destruction of the Russian-German Nord Stream pipelines, Orban recalled that Budapest had immediately branded the incident a terrorist attack when it took place last September. However, Germany and Western Europe continue to shy away from that description, he added.
“There is another pipeline… [bringing] gas from Russia through the southern corridor [to] Türkiye, Bulgaria, Serbia, [and] Hungary. Together with the Serbian president [Aleksandar Vucic], we made it very clear that if anybody would like to do the same thing with the southern corridor, as it was done with the northern one, we’ll consider it as a reason for war,” Orban stated. “Probably, you can do this with the Germans, but you can’t do this with this region.”
Carlson insisted it was “very obvious” that the administration of US President Joe Biden had destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines, either directly or via a proxy – a claim that the White House has consistently denied. Orban implied that he agreed with Carlson’s assessment.
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When the former Fox News presenter asked whether Orban had discussed his warning regarding the TurkStream pipeline with Russia, the prime minister said that the message had not been directed at Moscow.
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleged in February that the US was behind the Nord Stream attack, and that Norway had assisted with the operation. He further suggested that Washington had spotted an opportunity to sever German economic ties with Russia amid the Ukraine crisis, and that destroying the energy links ensured that Berlin would be more compliant. As with Washington, Olso has denied the allegations.
Based on leaks from officials, the Western media has since published reports which indicate that a “pro-Ukrainian group” was behind the sabotage. Leading German outlets made similar claims last week, stating that evidence in the case strongly points to Kiev’s involvement.
READ MORE: German officials believe Ukraine destroyed Nord Stream – media
Russian officials have claimed that the US was the biggest beneficiary from the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines. American producers of liquified natural gas have taken over the Western European market, which was previously supplied by large amounts of cheaper Russian pipeline fuel.
