Turkey blasted Kyrgyzstan for hosting leading Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) members at an iftar dinner Tuesday.

In a written statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said: "It is unacceptable that leading FETÖ members in Kyrgyzstan were invited to an iftar dinner organized by the Office of the Grand Mufti of Kyrgyzstan on the 8th of May."

"In fact, our ambassador to Bishkek became aware of the situation and reacted correctly," he said.

Aksoy stressed that combating FETÖ presence abroad is among the "main priorities" of Turkey.

"We have persistently explained the threat posed by this terrorist organization to our counterparts in countries where FETÖ is present, on many occasions," he added.

"We expect not only the official authorities of friendly countries but also their national institutions to adopt a sensitive approach vis-a-vis this matter," the spokesman said.

FETÖ, which promoted itself as a charity group with religious motives, is known for two disguised coup attempts in 2013. It attempted its most brutal takeover bid in 2016. Some 251 people were killed and thousands of others injured when FETÖ-linked military officers took to the streets on July 15, 2016, to seize power and kill the country's leaders. Strong resistance by the people, rallied by the president, ultimately thwarted the putsch bid and multiple investigations were launched to capture the perpetrators. Tens of thousands of people were detained or arrested for links to FETÖ and operations are still underway to capture fugitive suspects.