Hungary's Interior Ministry is investigating Thursday's bomb threats at nearly 300 schools. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a regular interview with public radio Kossuth Rádió on Friday that further provocations could be expected. EU sanctions against Russia can be extended only if Ukraine resumes transit of Russian gas to central Europe, stops attacks on the TurkStream pipeline and provides guarantees for further oil transit, Orbán further said.
He noted that he had told other EU leaders that "if Ukraine wants to get help, including sanctions against Russia", it must meet three conditions: to restore gas transit, "not to use military means to attack" on the TurkStream pipeline and not to impose a ban on Russian oil supplies to Europe via its territory. Orbán warned that "otherwise the sanctions, which must be decided within a week, will not be extended".
Orbán also added that the EU sanctions against Russia are harming Europe - Hungary alone has lost around 19 billion euros because of them - so EU leaders should consider whether to continue this policy.
He recalled that the EU must decide by 31 January whether to extend the sanctions against Russia imposed because of the conflict in Ukraine for another six months. "If we look at the figures for the last three years, we see that Hungary has lost about €19 billion because of the sanctions," He said.
According to the Prime Minister, it is possible that the act was directed from an international centre, but the Hungarian secret services have not yet been able to get there.
We must prepare for further provocations
Orbán said that the situation was complicated by the fact that such an act did not occur only in Hungary, informs TASR Budapest correspondent.
According to the Prime Minister, it is quite possible that the act was directed from an international centre, but the Hungarian secret services have not yet been able to reach it.
The Hungarian authorities have been ordered to track down the source of the threats, Orbán said, adding that it is necessary to be prepared for others to attempt something similar after yesterday's threats.
The Prime Minister noted that acts of terrorism are occurring in Western Europe, so threats of this kind must be taken seriously. "If we let migrants in, instead of threats, there would be terrorist acts," he stressed.
The magyarnemzet.hu news server recalls that on Thursday three hundred schools across the country received an e-mail bomb threat, forcing their evacuation. 245 schools in Budapest and 23 schools outside the capital received the threat. By Thursday evening, police had searched all the affected educational establishments but had not found any explosive devices.
PHOTO - Facebook Viktor Orbán
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