“We conveyed our viewpoint on terrorism and Kashmir to the Turkish side. It was made clear that there cannot be any justification for terrorism. We clearly conveyed that Kashmir is an issue of terror and there could be no justification for terror,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said while rejecting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offer to mediate between India and Pakistan to solve the Kashmir issue.
“The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India," Baglay said. "We have always been ready to resolve not only the Kashmir issue but all other bilateral issues with Pakistan in a peaceful manner.”
On the other hand, Pakistan has welcomed Erdogan’s offer of mediation between India and Pakistan.
“The Turkish President has also called for a multilateral approach to settling the Jammu and Kashmir dispute while calling for an immediate end to bloodshed in the Indian side of Kashmir, which we welcome,” the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement.
During bilateral discussions, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed India’s concerns on cross-border terrorism to the visiting Turkish President.
“The two <…> urged all countries and entities to work sincerely to disrupt terrorist networks and their financing, and stop cross-border movement of terrorists. Both leaders strongly condemned the use of double standards in addressing the menace of terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system. In this regard, they called for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention of International Terrorism,” the Joint Statement issued after the Modi-Erdogan talks said.
Relations between India and Pakistan are not on the best of terms right now. Indian Army claimed on Monday that two of its soldiers were killed and mutilated by Pakistan’s Border Action Teams in the Poonch sector of the Line of Control while Pakistan refuted the charge.
