CAIRO, Sept 29 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt's foreign ministry condemned statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Istanbul on Sunday.

In a strongly-worded statement released on Monday, the ministry accused Erdogan of providing terrorist organisations in the region with "political support, funding and/or shelter to spread chaos and harm the interests of the people in the region."

The ministry stressed the existence of "information and estimations" confirming the Turkish president's "direct contact with organisations in Libya, Syria, Iraq and other countries," adding that the United Nations and the international community "cannot stand silent" in the face of such information as it "poses a threat on international peace and security."

The ministry described Erdogan's stances as "reckless" adding that they "breach international norms." 

During a speech he gave at the World Economic Forum's opening ceremony, Erdogan made reference to the military ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 at the hands of then Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was elected as Egypt's president in a landslide victory last June. Erdogan indirectly criticised Sisi's presence in the United Nations General Assembly's 69th session last week.

"Has the UN become the appropriate podium for delivering speeches by Putchists ...?" Erdogan said, in reference to Sisi's speech in front of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

The foreign ministry described Erdogan's words as "lies". 

"[Erdogan's] practices and domestic record during the past [12] years is a far cry from true democracy," the ministry's statement read. "He is therefore in no position to lecture others about democracy and the respect of human rights, neither can he proclaim himself a guardian of such ideals."

The ministry criticised Erdogan's practices throughout the past years of his tenure, accusing him of violating his peoples' freedom of expression, using "excessive force" against political activists and peaceful protesters, blocking social media, interfering in judicial affairs, detaining citizens without charges and discriminating against the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

"Egypt advises Erdogan to tend to his domestic affairs, fix his tyrannical personal behavior and improve his poor human rights record" before he involves himself in others' affairs, the ministry said.

This is the second critical exchange between Erdogan and the Egyptian government in less than a week. The foreign ministry also condemned on Thursday Erdogan's speech before the UN General Assemby, where he referred to a "massacre of democracy in Egypt" and accused the UN of "legitimising a person who has committed a coup," in reference to Sisi.

Sameh Shukri, Egypt's foreign minister, cancelled a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu scheduled for Thursday in reaction to the speech. 

Turkish relations with Egypt have been strained since Mursi's ouster. 

Egypt expelled the Turkish ambassador to Cairo last November following similar critical comments from Erdogan, prompting a similar response from Turkey. Both countries have downgraded their diplomatic ties since then.