Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks published Wednesday that his controversial comments branding Zionism a crime against humanity had been misunderstood.

Erdogan, who has often attacked Israeli policies, triggered a storm of protest about his comments on Zionism at a UN forum in Vienna last month. Erdogan faced stinging criticism from Israel, the United States and the United Nations after telling the Vienna forum: "As is the case for Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity."