Cairo, Nov 23 (IANS): Egypt has decided to recall its ambassador from Ankara and expel the Turkish envoy here, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman said Saturday.

"We decided to withdraw our ambassador from Turkey and summon the Turkish ambassador in Cairo to inform him he is persona non grata and ask him to leave," Badr Abdel Aaty, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman said.

Egypt has also decided to downgrade its diplomatic representation to Turkey, said Aaty during a press conference, reports Xinhua.

The comments that Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made Thursday about Egypt was "untrue and was against the will of the Egyptian people," he added.

"Egypt has been giving opportunities to Turkey to fill the gap of bilateral relations, however, Turkey kept making similar comments and supporting some activities who aimed to undermine Egypt's stability," he said.

Erdogan criticized the Egyptian interim government and condemned the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Egypt considered these remarks as an affront to the will of the Egyptian people and an interference in its affairs.

On the other hand, Turkish foreign ministry said Saturday that Turkey will take steps in line with the principle of "reciprocity" after Egypt expelled Ankara's ambassador in Cairo.

Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Egypt have been strained after Ankara condemned Egypt's use of force against the supporters of Morsi.

Morsi, who is in prison awaiting trial, has denounced as illegitimate the court that is trying him on charges of inciting murder and violence.

He is one of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members that have been detained in a crackdown the interim authorities have portrayed as a struggle against terrorism.