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‘Unwarranted, no locus standi’: India rejects Turkish President Erdogan's Kashmir remarks at UNGA
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the matter pertained to India's “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
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India on Tuesday rejected the remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the United Nations General Assembly regarding the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, calling them “unwarranted references.”
Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal asserted that the matter pertained to India's “territorial integrity”, while maintaining that no external party had “locus standi” on the issue.
The statement came after Erdogan mentioned Kashmir in his UNGA address, and said the issue “should be addressed through dialogue."
“You would have seen that the remarks you referred to were made by the Turkish President. India rejects the unwarranted references to India and the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir made by the President of Türkiye during his address to the UN General Assembly,” Jaiswal said during the MEA briefing.
“This is a matter, as you would understand, pertaining to India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no external party has any locus standi on this issue,” Jaiswal added.
What did Erdogan say?
Erdogan, during his UNGA address, spoke about the importance of resolving disputes in South Asia through dialogue, while also mentioning Kashmir in this context.
“In South Asia, it is important that all disputes, including the Kashmir issue, be addressed through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations Charter and of relevant resolutions,” the Turkish President said. This was not the first time Erdogan has spoken about the Kashmir issue during his UNGA address. In September last year, he had called for a resolution regarding Kashmir at the UNGA.
“The issue of Kashmir should be resolved on the basis of the resolutions of the UN, for the best of our sisters and brothers in Kashmir, through dialogue, we hope,” Erdogan had said. Reacting to this, India made it clear that the matter is strictly bilateral and does not require involvement from outside parties.
“Our stand on the Kashmir issue is very clear, there has been no change in it. As far as mediation is concerned, there too, there is no need for any third party to mediate on the bilateral issues between India and Pakistan,” Jaiswal had said then.
The Turkish President had also spoken about Kashmir in February, 2025 during his visit to Pakistan. At a media interaction in Islamabad on February 13, 2025, Erdogan said the Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue between India and Pakistan, remarks which were again rejected by India as “objectionable”. A strong protest was also lodged with the Turkish ambassador in Delhi.
