US rebukes Erdogan for comments on Zionism

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday criticised "objectionable" comments by the Turkish prime minister equating Zionism to a crime against humanity, saying they complicate the efforts to find peace in the Middle East.

Speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Kerry stressed the "urgent need to promote a spirit of tolerance, and that includes all of the public statements made by all leaders".

Kerry said he had raised the comments "very directly" with Davutoglu and would do the same when he saw Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Friday.

Addressing the UN Alliance of Civilisations conference in Vienna this week, Erdogan complained of prejudices against Muslims. He said Islamophobia should be considered a crime against humanity "just like Zionism, like anti-Semitism and like fascism".

Kerry said that on the US side, "we not only disagree with it, we found it objectionable."

He added: "I believe there is a way forward, but it obviously gets more complicated in the aftermath of a speech such as the one we heard in Vienna."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sharply condemned the remark about Zionism, the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state, calling it a "dark and mendacious statement, the likes of which we thought had passed from the world". The United Nations joined the criticism.

Davutoglu denied Turkish officials were uttering hostile or offensive language. He repeatedly referred to the deaths of nine civilians at the hands of Israeli commandos aboard a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship in 2010.

He added: "If Israel wants to hear positive statements from Turkey, it needs to review its attitude. It needs to review its attitude towards us, and it needs to review its attitude towards the people in the region and especially the West Bank settlements issue."

Kerry said that despite the comments, he was hopeful Turkey and Israel could eventually find a way to restore their previously close relations.

The uproar has overshadowed Kerry's previously planned visit to the Turkish capital, where he had hoped to spend much of his time discussing the crisis in neighbouring Syria and co-ordinating plans with the Turks to assist the Syrian opposition, which is fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey is a co-sponsor, along with Spain, of the UN initiative to promote tolerance and understanding between various religions.

A UN statement said: "If the comment about Zionism was interpreted correctly, then it was not only wrong, but contradicts the very principles on which the Alliance of Civilisations is based."

The statement said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "believes it is unfortunate that such hurtful and divisive comments were uttered at a meeting being held under the theme of responsible leadership".