After Turkey's Erdogan raises Kashmir, India's EAM Jaishankar brings up Cyprus

After Turkey's Erdogan raises Kashmir, India's EAM Jaishankar brings up Cyprus

The long ongoing problem in Cyprus began in 1974 when Turkey invaded and then occupied the northern part of the country in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the Greek government

AgenciesUpdated: Wednesday, September 21, 2022, 10:30 AM IST
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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar | Twitter/@DrSJaishankar

United Nations: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has discussed the Cyprus issue with Turkiye's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu, hours after the Turkish President raked up Kashmir in his address to the General Assembly.

Jaishankar met Cavusoglu on the second day of his engagements on the sidelines of the high-level General Assembly session here.

"Met FM @MevlutCavusoglu of Turkiye on sidelines of #UNGA. Wide ranging conversation that covered the Ukraine conflict, food security, G20 processes, global order, NAM and Cyprus," Jaishankar said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The long ongoing problem in Cyprus began in 1974 when Turkey invaded and then occupied the northern part of the country in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the Greek government.

India has been advocating a peaceful resolution of the issue in accordance with the UN resolutions.

Erdogan rakes up Kashmir at UNGA

Hours earlier, in his address to the General Debate at the UN, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raked up the issue of Kashmir during his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly session.

"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 said on Tuesday in his remarks at the General Debate.

In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the issue of Kashmir in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session.

Last year in his address to the General Debate, Erdogan had said: "We maintain our stance in favour of solving the ongoing problem in Kashmir for 74 years, through dialogue between the parties and within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions." In 2020, Erdogan in his pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir.

India at that time termed it as "completely unacceptable", saying Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.

The Libya connection

Jaishankar also met the Foreign Minister of Libya, Najla Elmangoush and "appreciated her perspectives on the evolving situation in Libya."

In 2019, the Libyan National Army accused the Turkish authorities of supporting terrorist groups in Libya for many years, adding that the Turkish support has evolved from just logistic support to a direct interference using military aircraft to transport mercenaries, as well as ships carrying weapons, armored vehicles and ammunition to support terrorism in Libya.

In addition, a BBC report confirmed that Turkey was sending secret arms shipments into Libya with the Bana, with the escort of Turkish navy frigates.

On September 21, 2020, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on the Turkish maritime company Avrasya Shipping which operates the Çirkin freighter, because the vessel found to have violated the UN arms embargo in Libya in May and June 2020.

Earlier this month, Indian ambassador to UN Ruchira Kamboj accused Turkey of “blatant disregard” of UN security resolutions in Libya, after fierce clashes broke out in the capital Tripoli between rival factions in the fractured country.

Kamboj noted that while the situation highlights the need for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, there were still no signs of “tangible progress” on this front.

“Continued presence of foreign forces and mercenaries is detrimental to the peace and stability of the country and the region. There have been blatant violations of the arms embargo in Libya,” she said -- a veiled reference to Turkey.

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