Turkey calls Austria the 'capital of radical racism'

Turkey's foreign minister on Friday lashed out at Austria, calling it the "capital of radical racism," after the country's chancellor announced he would start a conversation among European countries to end talks geared toward allowing Turkey to reach its long-held goal of European Union membership.

"We know that the democratic standards are clearly not sufficient to justify [Turkey's] accession," Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded that the chancellor "should first take a look at his own country."

"One of the trends that is an enemy of human rights and values is racism, and today Austria is the capital of radical racism," he said.

The comments came as Turkey's ruling AKP party began a purge of members it says were collaborators and sympathizers in a July coup plot against the government. The party seeks to eradicate members it says have ties to the "Gulenist terror group," making reference to an exiled cleric now living in Pennsylvania who President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously called the "mastermind" of the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan now says Fethullah Gulen is a "pawn" of darker forces – a characterization which many interpreted to mean he suspects U.S. or Western involvement in the coup, a conspiracy theory popular in Turkey.

RELATED: See photos from the attempted coup in Turkey

Turkey's actions have strained relations with Western allies like the United States and EU members such as Austria. Cavusoglu announced an Aug. 24 visit by Secretary of State John Kerry, as the NATO members try to shore up relations. Cavusoglu also alluded to a possible visit from Vice President Joe Biden.

Politico reports that Turkey is hiring lobbying power in Washington to discredit Gulen. Gulen's U.S.-based nonprofit, The Alliance for Shared Values, has also retained a D.C.-based lobbying firm.

The State Department has broadly condemned anti-democratic actions in general but has declined to specifically criticize recent events in Turkey.

"I'll leave it at this. I would say we're watching developments there very closely and we're making very clear that the Turkish government – again, while we understand the basis for its actions – that it also bears in mind that it must hold true to its democratic standards," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday. "We also have rejected and continue to reject any attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government in Turkey. We support that government wholeheartedly as a strong ally and partner in the region."