New Delhi: India does not wish to be drawn into a ‘bloc-based’ position with regard to the Russian-Ukraine conflict, India has told Poland, while firmly cautioning Warsaw against extending any support, direct or otherwise, to Pakistan in matters related to cross-border terrorism.
Minister of external affairs S Jaishankar raised India’s concerns during his meeting with Polish deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski in New Delhi, where the two sides reviewed the expanding India-Poland strategic partnership and exchanged views on key regional and global developments.
The meeting was taking place at a time of “considerable churn” in global affairs, Jaishankar said, making it all the more important for countries in different regions to exchange perspectives. He underlined that India and Poland, whose ties were elevated to a strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Warsaw in August 2024, would review the Action Plan 2024-28 and explore deeper cooperation in trade, investment, defence, security, clean technologies and digital innovation, as reported by NDTV.
The conversation quickly turned to geopolitics, though, particularly the Ukraine conflict and its wider implications. Jaishankar said that he had “candidly” shared India’s views with Sikorski on multiple occasions, including in New York and Paris, and reiterated them in New Delhi.
“While doing so, I have also repeatedly underlined that the selective targeting of India is both unfair and unjustified. I will do so again today,” he said.
New Delhi has often shared its discomfort with what it sees as pressure tactics aimed at influencing its independent foreign policy choices on the Ukraine war. India has consistently maintained that it seeks dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict and has resisted being drawn into bloc-based positions through selective targeting.
Jaishankar also raised the issue of cross-border terrorism, a long-standing concern for India. Addressing the Polish deputy PM, he noted that he was “no stranger to our region” and would be familiar with the challenges posed by terrorism emanating from across India’s borders.
Poland would display “zero-tolerance for terrorism”, he hoped, stressing that it should not “help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood,” a remark widely seen as a reference to Pakistan.
India has, in recent years, stepped up diplomatic efforts to ensure that European countries and institutions remain alert to Pakistan’s record on terrorism financing and safe havens for extremist groups. The message in New Delhi was clear: while India values its growing partnership with Poland and the European Union, it expects its partners to take principled and consistent positions on terrorism.
“Poland should display zero tolerance for terrorists and not help fuel terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood,” Jaishankar said, a statement largely seen in response to Poland’s statement on Kashmir in October 2025 during a bilateral visit to Islamabad.
Minister Sikorski broadly echoed India’s concerns, saying that Poland also agreed on the “unfairness of selective targeting by tariffs”. He warned that such practices could lead to wider global trade turbulence. Referring to recent incidents in his own country, he said Poland had been a victim of arson and attempted state terrorism, including an attack on a railway line, and agreed on the need to counter trans-border terrorism.
Poland is among India’s largest trading partners in central Europe, with bilateral trade touching around USD 7 billion and Indian investments exceeding USD 3 billion. Both sides expressed confidence that the strategic partnership would continue to deepen, even as New Delhi used the occasion to firmly articulate its red lines on geopolitical pressure and terrorism.
