DHAKA: Turkish prime minister, and presidential hopeful, Recep Tayyip Erdogan sparked an outcry Wednesday after using what critics said was a racist slur against Armenians in a television interview.

During a live interview on the private NTV channel late Tuesday, Erdogan complained that the opposition was carrying out a smear campaign against him by claiming that he was from another ethnic origin.

‘They called me a Georgian. Pardon me for saying this, but they said even uglier things: They called me an Armenian!’ Erdogan said.

‘As far as I have learned from my father and grandfather, I am a Turk,’ he added.

BDST: 1952 HRS, AUG 06, 2014