External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has said that freedom of speech does not mean freedom to support separatism. Pointing towards the separatist incidents in Canada, he said, it was witnessed that separatists and extremist forces, many of whom openly advocate violence, have been given political space in Canadian politics.

Talking to a news agency yesterday, Dr. Jaishankar said, there are people in positions of prominence today in Canadian politics who espouse that kind of separatism and extremism. He said that whenever India takes up this issue with Canada, they invoke freedom of speech as an excuse.

On the India-China relationship, the External Affairs Minister said that every country wants good relations with its neighbours, but today our relations with China are not normal because peace and tranquillity in the border areas have been disturbed. He said, India continues to discuss it with the Chinese side. He opined that both countries need to resolve contentious issues if the relationship is to come back to normal.