Addressing the 81st UN General Assembly on September 22, Erdoğan said disputes in South Asia, including Kashmir, should be addressed through dialogue within the framework of the UN Charter and relevant resolutions.
The remarks came in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, adding another layer to what has become a recurring feature of Erdoğan’s UNGA speeches.
This is not Erdoğan’s first intervention on Kashmir.
He has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN in recent years. His strongest comments came in 2019, after India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370. He again spoke about Kashmir in 2021 and 2025.
And each time, New Delhi has objected.
India has maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and has rejected attempts by third countries to involve themselves in the matter. In response to Erdoğan’s earlier remarks, India described such comments as concerning matters internal to India and said there was no need for third-party mediation between India and Pakistan.
From New Delhi’s perspective, yes.
India has previously described foreign comments on Jammu and Kashmir as interference in its internal affairs. The Indian position is that issues between India and Pakistan should not be internationalised through third-party intervention.
For Ankara, however, Erdoğan has consistently presented his position as a call for dialogue and a resolution within the UN framework.
That difference is at the heart of the diplomatic friction.
The Kashmir issue has become part of Erdoğan’s broader foreign-policy messaging, particularly in his engagement with Pakistan and at international forums.
His latest remarks also came alongside comments on Gaza, Palestinian statehood, UN Security Council reform and the status of Turkish Cypriots—showing how Kashmir fits into a wider pattern of Erdoğan using the UN platform to address international disputes.
But for India, the question remains straightforward:
Why should Ankara have a say in an issue New Delhi considers internal and bilateral?
And that is why Erdoğan’s latest Kashmir remarks are more than just another line at the UNGA. They reopen a diplomatic fault line that India has repeatedly asked Turkey not to cross.
Kashmir may be on Erdoğan’s UN agenda. But New Delhi’s position remains clear: India does not accept third-party intervention on the issue.