Turkey on Wednesday considered that the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron - in which he warned that Ankara was seeking to influence the upcoming presidential elections in France - "unacceptable."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Macron's recent statements against President Erdogan and Turkey "contradict the friendship and alliance relations between our two countries, and cannot be accepted at all."

Speaking of Turkey, Macron said in the context of a documentary broadcast on French television channel France 5, "Certainly there will be attempts to interfere in the upcoming elections ... and the threats are not hidden."

The French President: There will be attempts to interfere in the upcoming elections (Reuters)

Franco-Turkish relations

"We must be very clear," said Macron - whose relations with his Turkish counterpart were very tense before the start of the breakthrough a few months ago.

He added, "Since the beginning of the year, I noticed Erdogan's desire to commit again to the relationship, and I want to believe that this is possible," denying at the same time the existence of any "hostility to Turkey."

"But I think that you cannot commit again (to a relationship) when there are points of confusion," he said, stressing, "I do not want to return to a quiet relationship if there are constant maneuvers behind that."

Accusations responded

In turn, the Turkish Foreign Ministry responded in a statement by saying that "Turkey does not care about the internal policy of France except the prosperity and happiness of about 800 thousand Turks living in this country."

For his part, the spokesman for the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party, Omar Celik, said that he hopes the French president will amend his recent statements, noting that his country has no relationship with internal affairs or elections in any other country.

Macron's accusations come as Turkey tries to calm its strained relations for years with European countries, including France.

Relations between the two countries, which are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), deteriorated due to the crises in Syria, Libya and the eastern Mediterranean.

The differences deepened last fall, turning into confrontations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart.