Turkey summoned France’s charge d’affaires in the country’s Ankara embassy late Wednesday, condemning the recent provocation of Charlie Hebdo magazine.
According to information from diplomatic sources, the diplomat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Turkey “strongly condemned” the derogatory cartoon which purportedly depicted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"Charlie Hebdo just published a series of so-called cartoons full of despicable images purportedly of our President. We condemn this most disgusting effort by this publication to spread its cultural racism and hatred," Turkey's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun previously said on Twitter.
"The so-called caricatures are loathsome and they are devoid of any real sense of human decency. It's clearly the product of a xenophobic, Islamophobic and intolerant cultural environment the French leadership seems to want for their country," Altun said.
While underscoring Turkey's position of being opposed to any violence and acts of terrorism against civilians, he said: "We will not remain silent in the face of disgusting attacks on our culture and religion no matter where it comes from."
"The racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incitements will not be able to provoke us into reciprocating in kind. We refuse to bow down to your intimidation and provocations based on your perceived victimhood," he added.
Charlie Hebdo, a left-wing French satirical magazine infamous for publishing anti-Islamic caricatures has drawn widespread anger and outrage across the Muslim world.
Earlier this year, it republished cartoons insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad. The caricatures were first published in 2006 by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, sparking a wave of protests.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Turkish prosecutors launched a probe against Charlie Hebdo for defamatory "cartoons" depicting Erdoğan.
