‘We're On Same Page On Terrorism’: Poland After Jaishankar’s Zero-Tolerance Message On Pakistan

Poland on Tuesday responded to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s strong remarks on terrorism, saying both countries are aligned in condemning cross-border terror and violations of international law, even as it acknowledged differences on certain regional issues.

In an interview with Indian Express, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said India and Poland are “on the same page” when it comes to terrorism and stressed that both nations are victims of transnational terror.

Responding to questions on Jaishankar’s reference to his visit to Pakistan last October, during which Kashmir featured in a Poland-Pakistan joint statement, Sikorski said discussions with India had been candid.

“We all have our regional concerns,

and we all have our neighbours. And with neighbours, you have opportunities and challenges. So yes, we did discuss it. On terrorism, we are on the same page,” he said, adding that Poland had also raised concerns about India’s participation in Russia’s Zapad military exercises, which Warsaw views as threatening.

Sikorski underlined that Poland and India share a commitment to international law. “Poland and India are countries that are interested in upholding the principles of international law. Both of our countries are victims of transnational terrorists and therefore we condemned the crossing of international borders either by tanks or by terrorists in the strongest of terms,” he said.

The remarks came a day after Jaishankar bluntly told Poland to adopt “zero-tolerance” towards terrorism and not help “fuel” terrorist infrastructure in India’s neighbourhood, a reference to the Kashmir mention in the October joint statement issued after Sikorski’s Islamabad visit. Jaishankar also expressed anguish over what he called the West’s “selective targeting” of India over its ties with Russia.

Sikorski, who is on a three-day visit to India, agreed with Jaishankar on the issue of unfair and selective criticism and said the two sides had frank discussions despite differences. The visit comes ahead of a broader engagement between India and the European Union, with both sides also reviewing cooperation in trade, defence, clean technology and digital innovation, as well as the growing strategic partnership between New Delhi and Warsaw.