India slams Turkish President Erdogan’s remark on Jammu and Kashmir at UNGA

Taking to Twitter, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti stated that Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue in his address at the UN General Assembly.

New Delhi: India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti said Turkey 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 & 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 own policies more deeply," Tirumurti said in a tweet.

• 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 UN Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) September 22, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  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 UN Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) September 22, 2020

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  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 UN Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) September 22, 2020

Turkish President Erdogan, in his pre-recorded video statement at a session of the U.N. General Assembly, said, “The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace of South Asia, is still a burning issue.''

He added, “We are in favour of solving this issue through dialogue, within the framework of the United Nations resolutions and especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir.”

Turkey, a close ally of Pakistan, had last year also raised the issue of Kashmir in his address to the high-level General Debate in the General Assembly. However, India, time and again, has told the west Asian country that Kashmir issue is an internal matter of India.

In the last one year, Pakistan-ally Turkey has used several platforms to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. However, India, time and again, has told the west Asian country that Kashmir issue is an internal matter of India.

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.

India considers the Kashmir dispute as something to be settled bilaterally with Pakistan, and under the Simla Agreement. It is a position that is widely accepted by the international community, including US President Donald Trump who had tried, and failed, to intervene in the dispute with offers to mediate.

Erdogan had raised the issue in 2019 as well, rallying around Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s attempt to obtain international attention on Kashmir at the UNGA. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was the only other leader to take Pakistan’s side at that time.

India has rejected any third-party intervention in the internal matters like the Kashmir issue and has maintained that all outstanding matters in Indo-Pak ties should be resolved bilaterally.