Secretary John Kerry will have a chance to express his concern over the remarks that Prime Minister Erdogan reportedly made in a speech yesterday equating Zionism with a crime against humanity, State Department said.

According to media reports, Turkish Premier compared Zionism with anti-Semitism and fascism.

Addressing the issue during the Friday briefing in Washington, senior department official said Turkey and Israel are both strong friends and partners of the United States, and Washington “will continue to urge both countries to do what they can and normalize that important relationship.”

“This was particularly offensive, frankly, to call Zionism a crime against humanity. I don’t think we’ve heard that before, and like I said, I’m sure the Secretary will be very clear about how dismayed we were to hear it,” the official said.

He also said Turkey shouldn’t block Israel’s participation in any multilateral activities, including those held within the framework of NATO.