ANKARA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Friday slammed the U.S. State Department over its spokesperson's negative comment on the upcoming snap elections.
On Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that "during a state of emergency, it would be difficult to hold a completely free, fair and transparent election in Turkey."
The ministry said in a written statement that U.S. official's "remarks on elections that have yet to take place mean interference in the will of the nation and cannot be accepted."
The ministry stressed that the state of emergency is against the activities of the terrorists that are targeting the country's unity and state's survival.
Earlier Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also criticized Nauert's remarks, saying Washington should focus on its own electoral concerns.
"It's been more than one and a half years since the U.S. elections, but the Americans are still discussing if there were 'fraud,' 'irregularity' at their polls," Yildirim said, referring to the alleged Russian interference in 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Earlier Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced to hold presidential and parliamentary snap vote on June 24, over one year before the scheduled date, Nov. 3, 2019.
Turkey declared a state of emergency for the first time on July 20, 2016 following a deadly coup attempt.
On Wednesday, the parliament ratified a bill to extend the ongoing state of emergency for the seventh time for three months, meaning the upcoming early elections on June 24 will be held under the emergency rule.
