Erdogan raises Kashmir bogey: Turkish president makes controversial comment ahead of bilateral talks

New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday suggested multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue to ensure peace in the region, ahead of bilateral talks with India.

Erdogen, who arrived in Delhi ahead of talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also favoured India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides that of Pakistan, said India should not have an objection to it.

"We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all," he told WION news channel in an interview.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. AP

The Turkish leader said that it is in the interest of India and Pakistan that they should resolve this issue and not leave it for the future generations who will have to suffer.

"All around the world, there is no better option than keeping the channel of dialogue open. If we contribute towards global peace, we can get a very positive result," he said.

Erdogan said India and Pakistan were both friends of Turkey and he wanted to help strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue which has been festering for the last 70 years.

Replying to questions on the Kurdish problem in Turkey, he said it could not be compared with the Kashmir issue.

"We have no problem with the Kurdish people. We have a problem with a terrorist organisation," he said.

"It (the Kurdish problem) is a territorial dispute. In Jammu and Kashmir, the situation is different. Let's not make the mistake of comparing them," he said.