A diplomatic dispute has reportedly surfaced between India and Poland after Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar publicly criticized the recent visit of Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to Pakistan. According to Indian media reports, the remarks have introduced new strains into relations between New Delhi and Warsaw at a time when both sides had been seeking to strengthen bilateral engagement.
As reported by The Hindu, Sikorski’s visit to Pakistan marked the first high-level Polish engagement with Islamabad since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Poland in August 2024, which had been followed by his trip to Ukraine. Against this backdrop, Jaishankar’s comments were seen as a pointed response to Poland’s evolving regional diplomatic outreach.
In televised remarks, Jaishankar stated that he wished to discuss Sikorski’s “recent travels to the region,” a phrase widely interpreted as a direct reference to the Polish minister’s two-day visit to Islamabad in October last year. During that visit, Pakistan and Poland agreed to expand political and economic cooperation, pledging to elevate bilateral relations into what both sides described as a “comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership.”
According to The Hindu, Jaishankar adopted a notably critical tone during his meeting with Sikorski, asserting that “Poland should display zero tolerance for terrorism and not help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood.” The report characterized this statement as an explicit allusion to Sikorski’s engagements with Pakistan’s senior leadership during his October 2025 visit.
Jaishankar further remarked that Sikorski, a former journalist who reported extensively on Afghanistan during the 1980s, was “no stranger to the region” and would therefore be “certainly familiar with the longstanding challenge of cross-border terrorism.” This comment appeared to underscore India’s long-standing concerns regarding militancy in South Asia and its expectations from international partners.
The Indian foreign minister also objected to Sikorski’s earlier criticism of India’s continued imports of Russian oil. Earlier this month in Paris, Sikorski had expressed satisfaction with what he described as India’s reduction in Russian oil purchases, arguing that such imports were “financing the war machine of Putin.” In response, Jaishankar reiterated India’s position, stating that the “selective targeting of India” over its energy choices was “both unfair and unjustified,” a view he said he had consistently articulated.
Following the meeting at Hyderabad House, Sikorski acknowledged areas of convergence and divergence between the two sides. While he noted that India and Poland shared common concerns regarding terrorism, he also raised Poland’s apprehensions about India’s participation in the “Zapad 2025” joint military exercises conducted by Russia and Belarus. According to the report, Warsaw viewed India’s involvement in these drills—some of which took place close to NATO borders—as “threatening.”
India had participated in the Zapad (West) exercises in September 2025, a move that drew scrutiny from several European states due to heightened security tensions in Eastern Europe. Addressing reporters, Sikorski emphasized that all countries face complex regional dynamics, stating, “We all have regional concerns and we all have neighbours, and with neighbours you have opportunities and challenges.” He added that despite differences, India and Poland remained “of one mind” on the issue of terrorism.
However, Sikorski reiterated Poland’s reservations, noting that India’s involvement in military exercises with Russia continued to raise concerns in Warsaw, highlighting the broader geopolitical fault lines shaping the evolving diplomatic exchange between the two countries.