Turkey and India on Monday called for a collective fight against terrorism. Speaking at the end of delegation-level talks, visiting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack on CRPF personnel in Sukma and expressed solidarity with India, even as he stopped short of condemning cross-border terrorism by Pakistan-based groups.
“We will never bow to terrorism that spreads tears and unhappiness. Terrorists will drown in their own blood,” said Mr. Erdogan, addressing the media at Hyderabad House.
“I condemn the terror attack of April 24 [in Sukma] where many Indian soldiers died.”
However, Mr. Erdogan’s condemnation of the killing of security personnel in central India contrasted with his silence over the news of an alleged cross-border attack by elements based in Pakistan.
The issue of cross-border terrorism was strongly taken up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who urged for a common strategy against states that use terrorism as an instrument of power.
President Erdogan in a TV interview before arriving in India had called for end to the violence in Kashmir and starting a multilateral dialogue involving India and Pakistan. However India maintained that it had never shied away from holding bilateral talks in line with the 1972 Shimla Pact and the 1999 Lahore agreement and said the main issue in Kashmir is of terrorism.
“We need to act and stand against those who create and conceive, support and sustain, shelter and spread these instruments and ideologies of violence,” said Mr. Modi in his speech.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs maintained that Turkey agreed to India’s definition of cross-border terrorism and included it in a bilateral Joint Statement.
“The two leaders reiterated their strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomever. Both sides urged all countries and entities to work sincerely to disrupt terrorist networks and their financing and stop cross-border movement of terrorists,” stated the Joint Statement issued towards the end of the visit.
President Erdogan also targeted the prominent Sufi cleric Fethullah Gulen’s Hizmet network that he blamed for the failed coup of July 15-16 2016. “We are telling our friends about the dangers that the Fetho group poses,” President Erdogan said, urging India and Turkey to combat the threat together.
