Unwarranted, Says India After Turkish President Erdogan Comments on Kashmir at UNGA

India has reacted sharply to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on the Kashmir issue, calling them “unwarranted” and “out of context”, top government sources told CNN-News18 on Wednesday.

Sources said Erdogan is under obligation to speak on the Kashmir issue to gain support from East and other Muslim countries to sustain his position. “Kashmir is an internal issue of India and we have done everything in a legitimate way. Raising Kashmir issue on international forums will not help anyone,” said a top government source.

Erdogan, a close ally of Pakistan, at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on Tuesday said, “India and Pakistan, after having established their sovereignty and independence 75 years ago, they still haven’t established peace and solidarity between one another. This is much unfortunate. We hope and pray that a fair and permanent peace and prosperity will be established in Kashmir.”

His comments come less than a week after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on Friday during which they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in diverse sectors.

“If at all we need to work, we should work collectively on terrorism and radicalisation,” said the top government source.

In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the Kashmir issue in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly sessions, causing strain in ties between India and Turkey.

In 2020, Erdogan commented on the Kashmir issue during his visit to Pakistan. At that time, the Indian government summoned the Turkish ambassador to lodge a diplomatic protest.

Meanwhile, Erdogan visited Russia on Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin focusing on a grain deal brokered by Turkey and the UN, prospects for talks on ending hostilities in Ukraine, the situation in Syria and growing economic ties between Moscow and Ankara.

(With inputs from PTI)

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