[President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan signing the visitors’ book, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on May 01, 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also seen.]
New Delhi/Ankara: Stating that India and Pakistan are both friends of Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan, hours before landing in India on two-day state visit, called for "multi-lateral dialogue" to resolve Kashmir issue and end more casualties in the troubled Indian state.
Erdogan, who arrived in New Delhi Sunday evening, also offered to mediate between India and Pakistan.
Erdogan's offer on Kashmir has created a storm in local media as India firmly rules out third party mediation on Kashmir. The Kashmiri leader however are praising the Turkish leader for his proposal.
"India-Pakistan relations are improving, which makes me happy, but it saddens me that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has not been settled for 70 years. India and Pakistan are our friends. Faith has contributed to our ancient relations. We have followers of Islam in Pakistan. We are for strengthening dialogue between stakeholders.
"We should not allow more casualties to occur and by strengthening multilateral dialogue, we can be involved, and through multilateral dialogue I think we have to seek out ways to settle this question once and for all, which will benefit both countries", Erdogan said while talking to WION news channel.
"I have been discussing these issues at length with my dear friend, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. I know he is a good-intentioned man. I personally heard him speak about settling this issue once and for all.
"So if we keep dialogue channels open, we can settle it once and for all. There is no better option than keeping dialogue channels open and contributing to global peace. I want this mentality to prevail among the leaders", he said.
In reply to another question, Erdogan said, "Pakistan is 100 per cent Muslim country and there is a very serious Muslim population in India. As the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), we would never act against India. All we want is an open channel of dialogue to bring India and Pakistan closer and settle this dispute.
Responding to Erdogan's reported comments, Ruchi Ghanashyam, a senior Foreign Ministry official, said India's position that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country is very well known.
"We have always emphasised that India-Turkey relations stand on their own footing and, we believe, the Turkish side reciprocates our sentiment," she said.
Ghanashyam however did not respond when asked if New Delhi will raise Erdogan's comments with him during the talks today.
Meanwhile, in a statement released Monday, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq -- head of the multi-party Hurriyat alliance -- welcomed the Turkish president's offer to support dialogue and also expressed “hope that Turkey, an influential Muslim country which is equally friends with both Pakistan and India, would use its offices to end the political instability in the region”.
He also said the Kashmiri people wanted good relations between India and Pakistan.
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