NEW YORK (AP) ― Sectarian violence between Buddhists and minority Muslims has thrown up “an unfortunate and unexpected challenge’’ in Myanmar’s transition to democracy, the nation’s foreign minister said Tuesday, but denied the unrest has been fueled by racism.

Wunna Maung Lwin said that the former pariah state’s shift from military rule remained on track.

He said next year’s pivotal elections would be free and fair, but he wouldn’t comment on whether opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be able to run for president.

The foreign minister also said his government has started a “verification process’’ in strife-torn Rakhine State to enable stateless Rohingya Muslims who have been in Myanmar for three generations to become naturalized citizens.

But he stressed that the government was still not recognizing Rohingya as a group.

The government describes the estimated 1.3 million Rohingya as ``Bengali,’’ a term which many members of the minority group object to strongly, as it implies they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, a London-based activist group, also said he was concerned that those who do not accept that classification will be deemed refugees who should be sent to a third country.