GOING COLD ON TURKEY

Economic leverage becomes New Delhi's frontline weapon against Ankara as it recalibrates its diplomatic battles

- BY ANILESH S. MAHAJAN

ON MAY 22, THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS CALLED OUT TURKEY, saying it expects Ankara to “strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism”. For good measure, it added that “relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other's concerns”. Those relations had been on a downhill track for some time but Turkey's overt support to Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack made matters worse. Post-Operation Sindoor, on May 15, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security had revoked the security clearance of Istanbul-headquartered Celebi Aviation Holding's Indian subsidiary which provided ground-handling services at nine key airports, including Delhi and Mumbai, citing “national security concerns”.