External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Polish counterpart on Monday — bluntly asking the European nation to ‘not help fuel terror infrastructure’ in the Indian neighbourhood. He also expressed his anguish over the unfair and unjustified “selective targeting” of India amidst the Ukraine conflict.
“You are no stranger to our region and are certainly familiar with the longstanding challenge of cross-border terrorism. I hope at this meeting to discuss some of your recent travels to the region. Poland should display zero-tolerance for terrorism and not help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood,” the EAM said in televised opening remarks at the meeting in New Delhi.
Poland ‘completely agrees’ with Jaishankar
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had travelled to Pakistan for wide-ranging talks with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar last year. The two countries subsequently released a joint statement that included mention of the Kashmir conflict.
“I completely agree with you on the need to counter transnational transborder terrorism. Poland, as you may have heard, has been a victim of arsons and attempted state terrorism when a Polish railway line was blown up under a moving train just very recently,” came the response from Sikorski on Monday.
‘Unfair, selective targeting of India’
The opening remarks during delegation-level talks also flagged the “selective targeting of India” amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Jaishankar reiterated earlier observations that the situation was “unfair and unjustified” as he stressed the need for closer ties with the European nation. The meeting between the two ministers comes at a time when the world is witnessing significant “global churn” and continued upheaval due to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Sikoski said the tariffs imposed by the United States are leading to global trade turbulence and noted India’s seriousness in expanding relations with Europe.
“I also completely agree with you on the unfairness of selective targeting, by tariffs. And we in Europe know something about that. Also, we fear that this is progressing to a global trade turbulence. We are hoping that India will continue to stay engaged in Europe. We’ve noticed that you are establishing embassies everywhere in Europe, which means that you are serious about relations with the European Union,” he added.