ANKARA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government on Thursday warned U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Francis Ricciardone for his public remarks criticizing the judicial system in Turkey.
Ricciardone should avoid making statements which could be considered interfering in the domestic issues of a country, Turkey 's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Thursday.
"It would be better if Ricciardone minded his own business," Bozdag said, adding that the ambassador's statements do not bode well for his assignment in Turkey.
Meanwhile, Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Huseyin Celik told reporters that the Turkish Foreign Ministry will issue "a warning" to the ambassador at a meeting with undersecretary of the ministry on Thursday afternoon.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Ricciardone criticized the long detention of army officers, scholars and students in Turkey.
"You have your military leaders, who were entrusted with the protection of this country behind bars as if they were terrorists. When a legal system produces such results and confuses people like that for terrorists, it makes it hard for the U.S. and European courts to match up," the U.S. ambassador said.
In 2011, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Ricciardone, calling him a "rookie" regarding his criticisms on press freedom in Turkey.
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