ISTANBUL - U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday his country is poised for a "new chapter in American engagement" with Muslims and the rest of the world during a round table meeting with students on his last official stop before departing from Turkey.
"America, like every other nation, has made mistakes and has its flaws, but for more than two centuries it has strived to seek a more perfect union," Obama told during a question and answer session with university students in Istanbul at the end of his two-day visit to Turkey.
"I am personally committed to a new chapter in American engagement," Obama said. "We can't afford to talk past one another and focus only on our differences, or to let the walls of mistrust go up around us," he added.
He said the United States needs to be more patient in its dealings with the world, and called for a greater understanding among nations.
Obama added the rest of the world needs a better sense "that change is possible so we don't have to always be stuck with the same arguments."
Tour of historic sites
Before meeting with the students in Istanbul, Obama, accompanied by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, visited the Hagia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district.
The museum - first a basilica, then a mosque, now a Byzantine architectural wonder - dates to 537 and is a shrine to the art, religion and culture of the city of 20 million. The nearby Blue or Sultanahmet Mosque is famed for its massive dome, minarets and thousands of hand-painted blue tiles.
He earlier met with Grand Mufti of Istanbul Mustafa Cagrici, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Cetin, Chief Rabbi of Istanbul Isak Haleva, and Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II Archbishop Aram Stesyan at his hotel in Turkey`s largest city during his final day in the country.
On Monday, Obama addressed lawmakers at Parliament, held talks with the Turkish leaders and visited the mausoleum of modern Turkey`s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the capital, Ankara.
The U.S. president departed from Istanbul`s main Ataturk Airport at 2:25 p.m. (1125 GMT).
Turkey is the last stop of Obama`s maiden tour of Europe that has also included Britain, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.