Madrid - Former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar has denied denigrating US president elect Barack Obama when describing his victory as "historic exoticism and a predictable economic disaster," press reports said Friday.

Aznar issued a communique Thursday announcing possible legal action against those who had "deliberately misinterpreted" his comments to the Spanish edition of Vanity Fair magazine.

The interview prompted Socialist deputy leader Jose Blanco to refer to Aznar as a "reactionary person" with "racist roots."

Aznar pointed out that he had described Obama's election as an "extraordinary change" in the Vanity Fair interview, and that he had contacted Obama to congratulate him for his "brilliant victory."

Aznar headed two conservative governments from 1996 to 2004. (dpa)