Turkey's foreign ministry expelled its Egyptian ambassador on Saturday afternoon following Egypt's expulsion of the Turkish representative earlier in the day.

Egypt asked the Cairo-based Turkish ambassador to leave and recalled its envoy from Ankara in protest over continuous statements by Islamist PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan critising the interim government in Cairo. 

Egyptian authorities also stated that diplomatic ties with Turkey will be downgraded, replacing ambassadors with a charge d'affairs.

The move comes after months of tension between Cairo and Ankara over the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.