Ankara  - US President Barack Obama on Wednesday moved to heal rifts between the United States and Turkey, as well as the wider Islamic world, caused by the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Part of his approach lay in stressing cooperation - not just the use of force - as a way to stop Islamic extremists.

"I know that the trust that binds us has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced. Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not at war with Islam," Obama said in a wide-ranging speech to the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

Referring to terrorism in the Middle East and Central Asia, Obama was clear that terrorism must not only be answered with force.

"Force alone cannot solve our problems, and it is no alternative to extremism. The future must belong to those who create, not those who destroy," Obama said.

In a speech in which he made several references to US history, Obama praised the Islamic faith saying that the religion has shaped the world, including the United States for the better.

"The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because I am one of them."

On a two-day trip to Ankara and Istanbul, fulfilling his pledge to visit a Muslim nation in the first 100 days of his administration, Obama praised Turkey as a strong ally.

He thanked his hosts for Turkey's role in Afghanistan where it has provided troops and training for Afghan police and military forces. He was applauded by parliamentarians when he repeated his support for Turkey joining the European Union.

"Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together - and work together - to overcome the challenges of our time," Obama said.

"Turkey is bound to Europe by more than bridges over the Bosporus. Centuries of shared history, culture, and commerce bring you together."

He also praised efforts between Turkey and neighbouring Armenia to normalize relations. He also called for resolution in the argument between Armenia and Turkey over the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman forces during the First World War.

"History, unresolved, can be a heavy weight. Each country must work through its past. And reckoning with the past can help us seize a better future," Obama said.

Asked earlier on Monday on the question of whether he would use the term genocide to describe the massacres - a promise Obama made on the presidential campaign - the president said that even though he still held his own views on the matter, he did not want to upset current efforts by Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations.

"I'm not interested in the United States in any way tilting these negotiations," Obama said.

Analysts say that if the US president uses the term genocide during an annual April 24 statement in which the US president commemorates the Armenian massacre, Turkish-US relations would be seriously damaged.

Obama also used his speech to the parliament to call for a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and for Iran to forgo any nuclear ambitions. He also gave his support to efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.

The president praised Turkey for legal reforms it had made to strengthen human rights, specifically mentioning the recent launch of a state-run Kurdish-language television station.

But he also called for further implementation of reforms, including the reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary, which has been closed since the early 1970s. He also pledged to continue US cooperation with Turkey against the separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

Earlier on Monday, Obama paid his respects at the mausoleum of the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and laid a wreath at Ataturk's tomb.

Obama later met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan behind closed doors and was scheduled to fly to Istanbul later on Monday. Obama will leave Istanbul Tuesday afternoon. (dpa)