Erdogan badly hits the US, that's what he calls

If America issues arrest warrants for my 13 bodyguards in a country where I was invited, then excuse me but I cannot call it a civilized”, Erdogan said.

Over 10 people were injured in May during a protest in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, where manifesters clashed with the president's bodyguards.

In June, American authorities issued arrest warrants for 16 people concerning the incident, including bodyguards, prompting continued Turkish presidential reactions.

Erdogan noted that two of his security officers were responsible for protecting his wife and were not at all at the scene.

For the protest, the president had charged that he was organised by members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a network led by Fetullah Gulen, who lives in the US and is accused by Ankara of failed couping the state last year.

Washington has refused to extradite Gulen and continued the military arm at any time since Turkey is named a terrorist group, straining bilateral relations even more.