NEW DELHI: India and Poland are involved in a diplomatic row after Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar criticised Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s recent visit to Pakistan, Indian media reported.
According to the Indian daily The Hindu, the visit by the Polish minister was the first since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Warsaw in August 2024, from where he travelled to Ukraine as well.
The Indian daily reported that Jaishankar, in televised remarks, said he wanted to discuss Sikorski’s “recent travels to the region”, calling it a direct reference to the Polish minister’s visit to Pakistan in October last year.
During Sikorski’s two-day visit to Islamabad, Pakistan and Poland had agreed to deepen their political and economic ties during talks in Islamabad. Both countries pledged to transform their relationship into a “comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership”.
The Hindu reported that during the meeting between Jaishankar and Sikorski, the Indian minister said, “Poland should display zero tolerance for terrorism and not help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood.”
According to the Indian daily, this was a “direct reference to the Polish FM’s visit to Pakistan in October 2025, where he had met Pakistan’s top leadership”.
The Indian minister also took exception to the Polish minister’s previous comments about Delhi’s import of Russian oil.
The Hindu reported that Sikorski had stated in Paris earlier this month that he was “satisfied” by India’s reduction of Russian oil imports “because this is financing the war machine of Putin”.
“I have repeatedly underlined that the selective targeting of India is both unfair and unjustified. I do so again today,” Jaishankar told Sikorski, according to The Hindu.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting at Hyderabad House, Sikorski said that while the two sides agreed on concerns, India’s participation in “Zapad 2025” military exercises in Russia and Belarus was seen as “threatening”, the report said.
India had taken part in Russia’s Zapad (West) joint drills with Belarus in September 2025, part of which took place close to NATO borders.
“We all have regional concerns and we all have neighbours, and with neighbours you have opportunities and challenges,” Sikorski was quoted as saying.
“We also have concerns. India took part in the Zapad exercises in Russia that we find threatening,” Sikorski was quoted as saying.
