A tense media interaction in New Delhi has laid bare the strains in India-Poland relations, as Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski walked away from an NDTV question on Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism.

The exchange followed a meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, whose pointed public remarks earlier that day set a confrontational tone.

Jaishankar had issued a stark warning to Warsaw, urging Poland to exhibit “zero tolerance for terrorists and not help fuel terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood.” This statement was interpreted as a direct riposte to Poland’s controversial comments on Kashmir during a bilateral visit to Islamabad in October 2025, which India viewed as interference in its internal affairs.

The Polish minister’s brief encounter with NDTV Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul encapsulated the friction. When pressed on India’s concerns over “selective targeting,” Sikorski drew a parallel to Europe’s own challenges, remarking, “Well, we are targeted, as the European Union was selectively targeted too. So, you know, we’ve joined the same club.”

Sikorski swiftly shifted focus to the Russia-Ukraine war, pressing India to adopt a firmer stance. As the world’s most populous nation and a voice of the Global South, he argued, India should recognise Russia’s invasion as a “colonial war” aimed at reasserting control over Ukraine, a former Tsarist and Soviet colony.

“The times of European colonialism are over,” Sikorski declared, appealing to India’s historical experience as a victim of European imperialism. He expressed hope that New Delhi would see the conflict “for what it is” and take a stronger moral position, highlighting Warsaw’s expectation of alignment on this pivotal issue.

The interaction reached its nadir when Kaul raised India’s longstanding grievances over Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism—the very crux of Jaishankar’s earlier admonition. Visibly irritated and uncomfortable, Sikorski offered no response and abruptly departed, curtailing the exchange and underscoring the raw sensitivity of the topic.

This episode unfolds against a backdrop of quiet deterioration in India-Poland ties. Poland’s October 2025 statement on Kashmir, made during a high-level visit to Pakistan, provoked sharp backlash in New Delhi, with Indian officials decrying it as unbalanced and emblematic of “selective targeting.”

Jaishankar emphasised that he had candidly conveyed India’s position to Sikorski on multiple occasions—in New York, Paris, and now New Delhi—insisting that such selectivity is “both unfair and unjustified.” His public reiteration signals India’s diminishing patience with partners who moralise on its sovereignty while seeking support elsewhere.

Bilateral relations, once bolstered by shared democratic values and economic ties, have grown increasingly fraught. India and Poland maintain cooperation on global forums like the Ukraine crisis, yet New Delhi demands consistency, particularly on terrorism—a non-negotiable red line given Pakistan’s history of state-sponsored attacks, from the 2008 Mumbai assaults to recent border incursions.

Poland’s pivot to the Ukraine war reflects its frontline exposure to Russian aggression, with Warsaw hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees and bolstering NATO’s eastern flank. However, its outreach to India has faltered, as New Delhi prioritises strategic autonomy, abstaining from outright condemnation of Russia amid energy dependencies and BRICS ties.

Jaishankar’s forthright approach mirrors India’s evolving diplomacy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which brooks no hypocrisy. Officials in New Delhi have signalled that while engagements continue—spanning defence, trade, and technology—partners must align on core principles like zero tolerance for terrorism.

The incident also spotlights Poland’s delicate balancing act. Eager to deepen EU-India strategic partnerships, including in defence manufacturing and green energy, Warsaw risks alienating New Delhi by echoing Pakistani narratives on Kashmir, a disputed territory India administers fully and deems integral to its sovereignty.

Cross-border terrorism from Pakistan remains a flashpoint, with India citing UN-designated groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed as perpetrators of attacks killing thousands. Jaishankar’s message to Sikorski implicitly warns against any tacit endorsement, especially from NATO allies engaging Islamabad.

As India-Poland ties navigate this turbulence, the NDTV episode serves as a microcosm of wider geopolitical realignments. New Delhi’s insistence on principled reciprocity challenges Europe’s selective outrage, urging partners to confront terrorism universally rather than through partisan lenses.

Looking ahead, bilateral dialogues may pivot to economic imperatives—Poland’s interest in India’s defence market and India’s push for EU investments—yet the trust deficit lingers. Jaishankar’s bluntness suggests India will no longer acquiesce to “selective moralising,” demanding alignment on its existential threats.

This standoff reinforces India’s assertive posture in multilateral arenas, from the UN to the G20, where it champions counter-terrorism without equivocation. For Poland, recalibrating its South Asia messaging will be crucial to salvaging a relationship strained by one ill-timed remark.

Poland stands to gain little economically from tilting towards Pakistan, securing only a marginal strategic advantage, whereas India offers the potential for a fruitful and lucrative commercial exchange between the two countries. Poland may need to rethink its relationship with India so as not to harm its economic interests.

NDTV Report