New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) India has strongly warned Turkey against interference in Jammu & Kashmir after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently reiterated his support to Pakistan over Kashmir.
Pakistan has been perpetrating cross-border terrorism in Kashmir for the last three decades. However, during his recent visit to Islamabad, the Turkish President in his address to Pakistan’s Parliament had said, “Today the issue of Kashmir is as close to us as it is to you. Like in the past, we will continue to support Pakistan in the future.”
In response to a media query about Erdogan’s remarks, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that India “rejects the repeated attempts by Turkey to justify cross-border terrorism practiced so blatantly by Pakistan.”
These developments, he said, have strong implications for India’s bilateral relationship with Turkey.
Calling President Erodgan’s provocative comments “unacceptable”, Kumar said, “This recent episode is one more example of Turkey interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Erdogan’s “remarks reflect neither an understanding of history nor of the conduct of diplomacy. They distort events of the past to advance a narrow minded view of the present,” he said.
India has made a strong demarche with the Turkish government, Kumar told the media. The demarche was made by the Secretary (West) to the Ambassador of Turkey in New Delhi earlier on Monday.
–IANS
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