ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) - On his first state visit to a Muslim nation, U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday the United States and Turkey can send an important message to the world through their friendship.
"Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation and a predominantly Muslim nation - a Westernnation and a nation that straddles two continents - that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous, that there are not tensions, inevitable tensions, between cultures - which I think is extraordinarily important. That's something that's very important to me," Obama said at a news conference.
He added that "one of the great strengths of the United States" is that it does not consider itself "a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values. I think modern Turkey was founded with a similar set of principles."
Obama said he was hoping to "make a statement" by ending his week-long overseas trip in Turkey.
From CNN Politics
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Overall and coming from a sceptic, I rate Obama's speech in Turkey as excellant. There may have been a few comments that could be stretched this way or that, but overall it was very good. During the course of the speech, I tried unsuccessfully to place Hillary Clinton in those shoes and they did not fit. Obama was and is the best choice for all that needs to be accomplished for the near future. Obama will serve the US and it's interests well.