Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said what many in the Balkans know but few say out loud: if someone destroys Turkish Stream, the consequences will be comparable to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Not a metaphor. Not hyperbole. A direct warning from the man whose country controls the pipeline.

"An attack on Turkish Stream would be equivalent, one way or another, to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. We already experienced this after the destruction of Nord Stream," Bayraktar said at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

For Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and partially Austria and Slovenia - Turkish Stream is the artery carrying cheaper Russian gas. Alternative? According to Bayraktar - none exists. "Turkish Stream supplies gas to Turkey and European countries. There is no alternative," the minister stressed.

Energy as a military target

Bayraktar warned that energy infrastructure must remain outside conflict zones. "When you start treating energy infrastructure as a primary military target, you open a new chapter. It becomes an endless list of potential targets - compressor stations, transformers, the pipeline itself, power plants." Does this sound like a theoretical warning - or like someone who knows something the public doesn't yet?

Simultaneously, Bayraktar announced that the first reactor of the Akkuyu nuclear plant, built with Russian participation, could begin producing electricity in October. "October is a fairly optimistic timeline. Additional months may be needed. Primary block construction is 99 percent complete," he added.

The Balkans sit on a pipeline whose destruction would cause chaos comparable to blocking the world's most important oil strait. How many Balkan governments have a backup plan?