The White House is strongly condemning the Turkish prime minister’s accusation that Israel was behind the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says that suggestion is offensive, unsubstantiated and wrong. He says such statements only distract from the need for all countries in the region to work together constructively.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the claim in a nationally-televised speech. His only evidence was a statement by a Jewish French intellectual during a meeting with an Israeli official.

Erdogan also took a swipe at Muslim nations, accusing them of betraying Egypt by supporting the country’s military-backed new leaders.

(AP)