NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday rebuked Turkey’s President Erdogan for his recent remark over Kashmir. The ministry of external affairs in its weekly briefing said that it has lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador.
“We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are eternal to India. We have lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador. Such unwarranted statements on India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are unacceptable. Jammu and Kashmir are integral parts of India. It would have been better if Pakistan’s policy of using cross-border terrorism against India, which remains the biggest threat to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, has been called out,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
The Turkish president last week called for UN dialogue to address the Kashmir issue following his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The Kashmir issue should be addressed according to the UN resolution through dialogue and keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of Kashmir,” he said.
“Our state and our nation, as in the past, stands in solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers today,” he added. Pakistan has been courting Turkiye to strengthen its narrative on the Kashmir issue. India has maintained that the Kashmir issue is strictly bilateral in nature and there is no scope to internationalise it.