Turkish President Erdogan rakes up Kashmir issue during UNGA address

PTI

United Nations, September 20

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday once again raked up the Kashmir issue during his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session here.

“India and Pakistan, after having established their sovereignty and independence 75 years ago, they still haven’t established peace and solidarity between one another. This is much unfortunate. We hope and pray that a fair and permanent peace and prosperity will be established in Kashmir,” Erdogan, a close ally of Pakistan, said at the General Debate.

His comment comes less than a week after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on Friday during which they reviewed the full range of bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in diverse sectors.

In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the Kashmir issue in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly sessions, causing strain in ties between India and Turkiye.

India in the past termed his remarks as “completely unacceptable”, saying Turkiye should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.