SRINAGAR: India on Tuesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his remarks on Kashmir during United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, saying the latter’s speech constitutes “gross interference” in India’s internal affairs and is “completely unacceptable”.
Taking to social networking site Twitter hours after Erdogan raked the Kashmir issue in the UNGA, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, said Ankara should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its policies more deeply.
“We have seen remarks by President of Turkey on Indian UT of Jammu and 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 policies more deeply,” Tirumurti tweeted.
We have seen remarks by President of Turkey on Indian UT of Jammu & Kashmir. They constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs and are completely unacceptable. Turkey should learn to respect sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.
— PR/Amb T S Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) September 22, 2020
On day two of the high-level UNGA, the Turkish President said, “The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace of South Asia, is still a burning issue.”
In a pre-recorded statement, the Erdogan said that it is imperative to solve the issue of Kashmir 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,” Erdogan added.
In the last year, Turkey has used several platforms to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
In his 2019 speech, the Turkish president had accused the international community of having “failed” to devote enough attention to Kashmir, saying, “In order for the Kashmiri people to look at a safe future together with their Pakistani and Indian neighbours, it is imperative to solve the problem through dialogue and on the basis of justice and equity, but not through collision.”
Last week, India had slammed Pakistan, Turkey and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council for their remarks on India’s internal affairs.
