New Delhi: India on Monday escalated its diplomatic response to Turkey’s steady criticism of its Kashmir move by summoning the Turkish ambassador to the Ministry of External Affairs.
India took the decision over “unacceptable” statements on Kashmir made by Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and stated that these have “strong implications” on the bilateral relationship.
The MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the démarche – a diplomatic move which usually in the form of a letter – was made by Secretary (West) Vikas Swarup to the Ambassador of Turkey to India, Şakir Özkan Torunlar on Monday.
He said that the “strong démarche” delivered to the Turkish envoy was chiefly about Erdoğan’s remarks. “These 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,” said Kumar.
Also read: After Erdogan Supports Pakistan on Kashmir, India Asks Turkey Not to Interfere
Erdoğan spoke about Kashmir in his speech at the Pakistan parliament and there was also a reference to it in the joint declaration made by Turkey and Pakistan.
In unusually un-diplomatic terms, Kumar said that this “recent episode is but one more example of a pattern of Turkey interfering in the internal affairs of other countries”. India, he said, “finds that completely unacceptable”.
He asserted that there India “particularly reject(s) the repeated attempts by Turkey to justify the cross-border terrorism practiced so blatantly by Pakistan”.
“These developments have strong implications for our bilateral relationship,” added Kumar.
In his speech to a joint session of the Pakistani parliament last week, Erdoğan had asserted India’s recent steps “which aggravates the current situation and revokes the freedom and … rights of the Kashmiri people, does not bring any benefit to anyone”. He was referring to the reading down of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which gave autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir and the ultimate bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.
Erdoğan had also compared the current situation in Kashmir to the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, when Britain, France and Russia had fought to bring down the Ottoman empire. He also claimed that the plight of Kashmiris meant as much to Turkey as it did to Pakistan.
Erdoğan also announced that Turkey would support Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to help it avoid further strictures on terror financing.
The joint declaration, issued during the visit, stated, “The two sides underscored need for resolution of all outstanding disputes between Pakistan and India, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir through a sustained dialogue process and in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions”.
On Saturday, India had first reacted by dismissing Erdoğan’s remarks and calling upon him to “develop proper understanding of the facts, including the grave threat posed by terrorism emanating from Pakistan to India and the region”.
Previously, in October last year, India had stated that the Turkish President’s “repeated statements” since August have been “factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted”.