Turkey agrees to stay out of Iran on nuke issue

During a 45-minute conversation with her Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asked him to leave the issue to UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

"They reviewed a wide range of subjects during the call, including the situation with respect to Iran. Clinton also talked to the foreign minister and reiterated USA's commitment to help with the PKK as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation," State Department spokesman, P J Crowley, told reporters.

"The PKK remains a common enemy of Turkey, US and Iraq and is a threat to the stability of the region. And we continue to support efforts by Turkey and Iraq to deal with the problem of the PKK," he said.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community -- has been waging a 25-year-old campaign for Kurdish self-rule that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Clinton encouraged the foreign minister to continue important dialogue with Israel because that relationship remains a vitally important one to the future of the region, Crowley said.