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Signalling the desire to preserve ties with India, Turkey on Wednesday said its friendship with Pakistan to not be seen as hostility towards India, adding that the support for Islamabad should not overshadow cooperation elsewhere.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, in a key outreach message, tried to convey that Turkey’s close and “brotherly” ties with Pakistan were not unique and should not be interpreted by India as an unfriendly act.
“It is what needs to be done between Turkey and India, because we have a lot to cooperate, to benefit, and we are mature enough to go in this direction. So Turkey is not the only country you actually have good relations and brotherly relations with Pakistan. There are other countries,” Fidan said, speaking at International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSF) lecture in Singapore’s Raffles Hotel.
“If India is going to take actions or be resentful about any countries who have good relations and enjoy giving support to Pakistan, so I don’t know,” Fidan said, according to a video of his speech shared by Clash Report on X.
He went on to reiterate Turkey’s stand, saying, “But as I said, we have no problem on bilateral level with India, and we urge India not to read the issue from a different perspective. It is what needs to be done between two countries.”
The statement by the Turkish foreign minister gains significance given backdrop of India’s tense relations with Pakistan over sponsoring terror and Turkey’s support for the latter amid global condemnation for terrorism-related links found in probes over attacks.
Turkey and Pakistan have maintained close political, diplomatic and defence ties for decades, with Turkey often publicly backing Pakistan on key international issues.
Turkey has repeatedly echoed Pakistan’s position on Kashmir at forums like the UN, which has drawn criticism from India.
Turkey also maintains relations with India in trade, tourism and business, though ties have periodically become strained over Ankara’s comments on Kashmir and its closeness with Pakistan.
Turkey had backed Islamabad even after Operation Sindoor in May last year— India’s military strikes on terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack in which terrorists found to have links with Pakistan killed 26 people.
“We are following the developments between Pakistan and India with concern. The attack carried out by India last night (6 May) raises the risk of an all-out war. We condemn such provocative steps as well as attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the Turkish foreign ministry had said during the military conflict last year.
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