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India and Poland sparred implicit their respective determination rivals arsenic External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Polish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski aired their differences implicit Pakistan and Russia connected Monday (January 19, 2026) arsenic the 2 Ministers met for talks successful New Delhi.
Taking purpose astatine Poland’s renewed ties with Pakistan, Mr. Jaishankar told visiting Mr. Sikorski that India expects its partners not to assistance “fuel” coercion successful the neighbourhood. Mr. Jaishankar besides delivered a terrible connection to the visiting dignitary astir the European Union’s sanctions against India’s commercialized and lipid imports from Russia, calling it “selective targeting”.
In televised opening remarks astatine the Hyderabad House, Mr. Jaishankar said helium wanted to “discuss immoderate of [Mr. Sikorski’s] caller travels to the region”, a nonstop notation to the Polish FM’s sojourn to Pakistan successful October 2025, wherever helium had met Pakistan’s apical leadership. The sojourn to Pakistan by Mr. Sikorski appears to person upset the authorities arsenic it came a fewer months aft the India-Pakistan struggle successful May.
“Poland should show zero tolerance for coercion and not assistance substance the violent infrastructure successful our neighbourhood,” Mr. Jaishankar said. Mr. Sikorski is simply a erstwhile writer who covered the warfare successful Afghanistan successful 1986-1989 and spent sizeable clip successful Pakistan. Mr. Jaishankar said helium was “no alien to the region”, and would beryllium “certainly acquainted with the longstanding situation of cross-border terrorism”.
Speaking to reporters aft the gathering astatine Hyderabad House, Mr. Sikorski said that the speech astir India and Poland’s respective regions had been “frank”, and said that portion the 2 sides agreed connected concerns implicit terrorism, India’s information successful “Zapad-2025” subject exercises successful Russia and Belarus was seen arsenic “threatening”.
Regional concerns
“We each person determination concerns and we each person neighbours, and with neighbours you person opportunities and challenges,” Mr. Sikorski said, adding that connected coercion India and Poland are of “one mind”. “We besides person concerns. India took portion successful the Zapad exercises successful Russia that we find threatening,” helium stated.
The speech of differences betwixt Delhi and Warsaw was seen arsenic antithetic fixed that the 2 countries person been improving relations successful caller years, and India and the European Union are adjacent to a large commercialized statement adjacent week. The sojourn by the Polish Minister is the archetypal since Mr. Modi visited Warsaw successful August 2024, from wherever helium travelled to Ukraine arsenic well.
During talks, Mr. Jaishankar turned to the contented of India’s imports of Russian lipid that helium said Mr. Sikorski had been speaking astir “publicly” during his visit. In Jaipur connected Monday (January 19, 2026), the Polish Foreign Minister had said that helium was “pleased” that India had chopped its acquisition of Russian oil, and added, during an interrogation with The Hindu, that helium hoped India shares the presumption that “principles inactive matter”, portion criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin for his actions successful Ukraine.
Sources said that New Delhi had besides taken objection to Mr. Sikorski’s comments successful Paris earlier this period connected the sidelines of the “Weimar Triangle” talks erstwhile the Polish Foreign Minister had said that helium was “satisfied” by India’s simplification of Russian lipid imports “because this is financing the warfare instrumentality of Putin”.
“I person repeatedly underlined that the selective targeting of India is some unfair and unjustified. I bash truthful again today,” Mr. Jaishankar told Mr. Sikorski, referring to the comments and perchance to the EU’s determination to authorisation Vadinar, a partially Russian-owned refinery successful India successful July 2025, arsenic good arsenic different Indian companies for their imports.
Trade push
India and Poland person accrued commercialized 200% successful the past decennary to $7 cardinal and some sides person plans to summation nonstop flights, commercialized and exertion cooperation. The Polish Deputy PM’s sojourn is 1 of a fig of different visits this period by high-level European leaders, including the German Chancellor and France’s National Security Adviser, conscionable up of the sojourn by the EU’s apical enactment for the Republic Day Parade and the EU-India Summit adjacent week.
MEA officials did not respond to queries astir whether the contented of “selective targeting” of India would besides beryllium raised with the European Commission and Council Presidents Ursula Von der Leyen and Antonia Costa during talks adjacent week.
