Egypt's presidency rejected on Tuesday recent comments by Turkish leaders saying that they still regard deposed president Mohamed Morsi as the country's legitimate leader.

Ahmed El-Moslimany, the presidency's advisor for media affairs, described the comments as "inappropriate," adding that the Turkish administration should respect the masses who protested against Morsi's rule. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with a Turkish newspaper on Sunday that "my president in Egypt is Morsi because he was elected by the people."

Egypt's foreign ministry also expressed on Tuesday "strong dissatisfaction" with the Turkish premier’s comments. 

The ministry's spokesman Badr Abd El-Aty said that the comments are "a clear intervention into internal Egyptian affairs."        

Abd El-Aty added that Erdogan’s statement reflects a "lack of realisation and accuracy of the reality of developments in Egypt" and a "challenge to the will of the masses who took to the streets for their rights." 

He called upon Turkish officials to hold the historic relationship and mutual interests between the two countries above internal conflicts.  

On Tuesday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul called on Egyptian authorities to release Morsi, who was deposed by the army on 3 July amid mass nationwide protests against him. Gul called on Egypt and Turkey to maintain the strong relationship between the two countries. 

On 9 July, reports circulated that Egypt's foreign ministry had summoned the Turkish ambassador over what it said were Turkish calls for the UN Security Council to intervene in Egyptian domestic politics.

According to the reports, Turkish officials had called on the UN to take action against what Ankara has described as a "military coup" against Morsi.