India terms Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks on Kashmir as “completely unacceptable”

NEW DELHI: India has termed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks on Kashmir during his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) speech as “completely unacceptable”, and advised Ankara to “learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations”.

The Indian Mission at the UN in New York said on Tuesday that Erdogan’s speech was an act of “gross interference” in India’s internal affairs.

“We have seen remarks by the President of Turkey on Indian UT (union territory) of Jammu & Kashmir. They constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs and are completely unacceptable. Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply,” India’s permanent representative at the UN, TS Tirumurti, said in a tweet.


The Turkish President, on day two of the high-level UNGA session, said: “The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace of South Asia, is still a burning issue.”

As per the recorded statement, the Turkish leader said it was important to solve the Kashmir issue through dialogue. “We are in favour of solving this issue through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations resolutions, especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir,” he added.

In the past one year, Turkey, based on Erdogan’s goal to emerge as a leader of the Islamic World, has raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir across various platforms, but India has time and again reminded Ankara that it was an internal affair.

Last week, India had slammed Pakistan, Turkey and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council over their comments on India’s internal matters.

New Delhi had then advised Turkey to refrain from commenting on the internal matters of India and develop a better understanding of democratic practices. Turkey is also taking lead in the OIC on the Kashmir issue, in support of Pakistan.