ISTANBUL, Turkey, April 07, SPA -- Seeking to give America a freshstart with the Muslim world, US President Barack Obama isfinishing a two-day stay in Turkey later today with an appeal toTurkish youth, Associated Press reported. At a town-hall meeting with college students in Turkey'slargest city, he'll say he understands the frustrationsAmerica's actions have spawned among Muslims _ and wants toturn the page. «We will listen carefully. We will bridgemisunderstandings. And we will seek common ground,» Obamatold Turkey's parliament in a speech Monday. The Turkish stop capped an eight-day European trip thatsenior adviser David Axelrod called «enormouslyproductive» _ including a crisis economic summit in Londonand a NATO conclave in France and Germany. Obama's final day in Turkey also featured a meeting withreligious leaders and stops at top tourist sites in thiscity on the Bosporus that spans Europe and Asia. Accompanied by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hetoured the Hagia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque. Speaking Monday to Turkish lawmakers, Obama praised thiscountry's historical role as a bridge between East andWest. «This is not where East and West divide _ this iswhere they come together,» he said. But he also said he understands the strains imposed onTurkey by the Iraq war _ and the feeling of many Muslimsthat the war on terror was aimed at them. «The United States is not, and will never be, at war withIslam,» Obama declared, adding that America's relationshipwith the Muslim world «cannot, and will not, just be basedupon opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagementbased on mutual interest and mutual respect.»--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/652003