ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkey on Sunday protested the United States after the twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in Turkey "liked" a tweet posted by a fugitive journalist whom Ankara believed to be a member of the Gulen Movement, the network Turkey accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt in 2016.
On Saturday, the U.S. account "liked" a tweet that said Turkey should be ready for politics without Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and an ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who has health problems in recent weeks.
The original tweet was posted by fugitive journalist Ergun Babahan, who had fled Turkey following the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
The U.S. embassy cancelled the "like" from its Twitter page and posted an apology late on Saturday over the reactions on social media.
"Earlier today, our Embassy Twitter account 'liked' an unrelated post in error. We regret the mistake and apologize for any confusion," it said.
After the incident, Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to request for explanation.
"Freudian slip? The U.S. Embassy has no business meddling in Turkey's domestic affairs. @StateDept must investigate this incident and discipline those responsible. U.S. Embassy 'likes' post by FETO-linked figure claiming Bahceli's 'end is near'," Fahrettin Altun, presidential communications director, posted on his Twitter account.
Omer Celik, spokesperson for the AKP, said the U.S. State Department and embassy need to investigate into the issue and an apology only would be unacceptable. He recalled that Babahan was wanted over links to the network of Gulen.
"It shows that some people employed in the Embassy are making a special effort to damage the relations between the two countries," Celik said on Twitter.
Semih Yalcin, deputy head of the MHP, said Bahceli has recovered from his illness and would return to work in the coming week, accusing the U.S. administration of supporting the members of Gulen network.
The MHP is the ally of the ruling AKP and they entered the parliamentary and presidential elections in an alliance last year, paving the way for gaining majority in the parliament.
The ties between the two NATO allies have already been strained by differences on the Syria crisis, Turkey's purchase of Russian made S-400 missile defense systems and the detention of local U.S. consulate employees and citizens in Turkey.