New Delhi: India on Monday issued a strong demarche to Turkey over its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks on Kashmir and comparing the "struggle" of Kashmiri people with that of the fight by the Turkish during the World War I.

In a strongly worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Erdogan's remarks reflected neither an understanding of history nor of the conduct of diplomacy and that they will have strong implications on India's ties with Turkey.

MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India rejected the repeated attempts by Turkey to justify the cross-border terrorism "practised so blatantly" by Pakistan.

He said the Turkish President's remarks "distorted" events of the past to advance a "narrow minded" view of the present.

"This recent episode is but one more example of a pattern of Turkey interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. India finds that completely unacceptable," Kumar said.

The demarche was made by Secretary (West) Vikash Swarup to the Ambassador of Turkey.