The government has decided to call off a proposed visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Turkey’s capital Ankara.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Govt has called off PM Modi’s visit to Turkey’s capital Ankara
- Turkish President supported Pak & criticised India on Kashmir at UNGA
- India told Turkey to understand Kashmir issue before making further comments
This comes as part of a number of measures showing the Indian government’s displeasure over Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last month where he criticised India’s move to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Supporting Pakistan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that it is imperative to solve the problem through “dialogue on the basis of justice, equity, and not through collision.”
Erdogan also said the stability and prosperity of South Asia cannot be separated from the Kashmir issue.
Responding to Turkey’s statements on Kashmir at the UNGA, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that India does not regret the Turkish president’s statements onwards on a subject which is internal to India. The ministry also called upon Turkey to get a briefing of the facts on the Kashmir issue.
“We call upon the Turkey government to get a proper understanding of the situation on the ground before they make any further statements on this issue. It is a matter which is completely internal to India,” the MEA spokesperson said.
(CURTSY;INDIA TODAY )
Prasanta Patnaik