France Says to Summon Turkish Envoy After Erdogan's 'Insults'

France's Foreign Ministry will summon Turkey's ambassador following insulting comments made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a French presidency official said on Friday.

Erdogan commented on Emmanuel Macron's warning that NATO was suffering from "brain death" saying that he should check whether he was not brain dead himself.

"I'm addressing Mr. Macron from Turkey and I will say it at NATO: You should check whether you are brain dead first," Erdogan said.

For his part the French official said: "On the latest excesses by the Turkish president, these are not statements, these are insults."

"We are expecting president Erdogan to clarify," he added, Reuters reported.