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India-Turkey Tensions Persist Alongside Practical Cooperation
India and Turkey disagree about Kashmir, and Turkey has often supported Pakistan’s calls for dialogue about it.
India says Kashmir is an internal matter and does not want other countries involved.
The countries also became more distant after a 2025 attack in Pahalgam and India’s military operation that followed.
Even so, they started meeting again after a four-year break.
They discussed business, travel, technology, energy, education and security.
Turkey has also helped India bring wanted crime suspects back to face justice.
India is watching Turkey’s closer cooperation with Pakistan, especially on military technology.
So the two countries have serious disagreements, but they still work together in some areas.
Turkey’s repeated statements supporting dialogue on Kashmir, and its alignment with Pakistan, have strained relations with India.
India says Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of the country and rejects third-party involvement.
India and Turkey resumed foreign office consultations in April after a four-year pause, discussing trade, investment, tourism, technology, energy, education and security.
Turkey has assisted India with extraditing wanted fugitives, including drug traffickers, despite wider diplomatic disagreements.
India is monitoring Turkey’s cooperation with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia under the Mecca pact, including possible military-technology links.
- Who
- India and Turkey, with Turkey’s relationship with Pakistan also affecting the bilateral ties.
- What
- Relations remain strained over Kashmir and Turkey’s ties with Pakistan, while the two countries continue diplomatic, economic and law-enforcement cooperation.
- Where
- India, Turkey and Pakistan; the article also discusses statements at the United Nations General Assembly.
- When
- Foreign office consultations resumed in April after a four-year pause; the article also refers to events in August and late September without specifying the year for those references.
- Why
- Turkey’s statements on Kashmir and support for Pakistan have strained ties, while shared interests in trade, security and tackling crime provide grounds for cooperation.
India's position
Turkey's position
Kashmir and third-party involvement
India's position
India says Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and rejects external involvement in what it describes as an internal, bilateral matter.
Turkey's position
Turkey’s president has called for disputes in South Asia, including Kashmir, to be addressed through dialogue under the UN Charter and relevant resolutions.
Turkey-Pakistan cooperation
India's position
India is monitoring the Mecca pact and assessing possible military-technology cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan, including in drones and electronic warfare.
Turkey's position
The article describes Turkey as maintaining a close relationship with Pakistan; it does not provide a detailed Turkish response to India’s concerns about the pact.
Continued engagement
India's position
India has resumed consultations and pursued practical cooperation, while emphasizing its national interests and remaining alert to security risks.
Turkey's position
Turkey has taken part in renewed consultations and, according to the article, assured India it had no inherent bilateral dispute with it.
Key facts
- Foreign office consultations
- Resumed in April after being suspended from 2022 until this year, a period described as four years.
- Kashmir dispute
- Turkey has called for dialogue on Kashmir; India says Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and rejects third-party involvement.
- 2025 events
- The article links further strain to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor.
- Consultation topics
- Trade, investment, tourism, technology, innovation, energy, education and security.
- Extradition cooperation
- The article cites Turkey’s assistance in extraditing wanted fugitives, including Navpreet Singh and Salim Dola.
- Extradition treaty
- Experts cited in the article say the 2001 India-Turkey treaty provides a legal basis for cooperation on serious criminal offences.
- Mecca pact
- Turkey entered the pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on August 7; India is assessing potential military and technology implications.
Quotes
Muktesh Pardesi
Former Indian ambassador quoted on the resumed India-Turkey dialogue.
“We believe dialogue is better than not talking and deepening disagreements and misunderstandings. And the conversations have been satisfactory.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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