Turkey making repeated bids to justify Pakistan’s cross-border terror: India

Monday’s statement is unusually strong and comes a day after the MEA urged Turkey to avoid interfering in domestic affairs of India.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. File

Turkey is trying to justify Pakistan's cross-border terrorism in Kashmir, India said on Monday.

Official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar issued a scathing comment saying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest statement on the Indian territory during his trip to Pakistan reflected a narrow-minded view that would have “strong implications” for India-Turkey ties.

“This recent episode is but one more example of a pattern of Turkey interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. India finds that completely unacceptable. We particularly reject the repeated attempts by Turkey to justify the cross-border terrorism practised so blatantly by Pakistan”, Mr. Kumar said. He announced that a “strong demarche” on the matter was made to the Ambassador of Turkey earlier on Monday by Secretary in charge of Western affairs Vikas Swarup.

President Erdogan had described the situation in Kashmir as an outcome of “unilateral” actions by India. He also expressed support for the Kashmiri people and expressed solidarity with Pakistan's position on the issue.

The MEA's Monday statement is unusually strong and comes a day after it urged Turkey to avoid interfering in domestic affairs of India.

“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 Mr. Kumar. He reiterated India's rejection of President Erdogan's comments on Kashmir and warned, “These developments have strong implications for our bilateral relationship”.