Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sparked an outcry after using what critics say was a racist slur against Armenians in a television interview.
During the August 5 interview, Erdogan complained that the opposition was carrying out a smear campaign by claiming he was of Georgian or Armenian descent.
"They called me a Georgian. Pardon me for saying this, but they said even uglier things. They called me an Armenian," Erdogan said.
His comment comes just days before the August 10 presidential election, which Erdogan is widely expected to win.
The comment drew anger in the media, while an opposition lawmaker has filed a legal complaint against Erdogan, accusing him of inciting racial hatred.
Turkey and Armenia have long been at odds over the World War I massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. Armenia calls the killings genocide, a term Turkey rejects.
