WASHINGTON-US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Sunday before leaving Washington for arms reduction talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev, the White House reported.

A readout of Obama's call with the Turkish President, published on the White House website, said the two leaders discussed "the situation in the Caucasus," and the "Minsk Group's ongoing efforts to address Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

Gul also "updated President Obama on the status of Turkish-Armenian relations," the readout said, adding that both Presidents emphasized that U.S.-Turkish relations "are strong."

"Our two countries will continue to partner together to address common challenges to our security and prosperity around the world," the statement read.

Turkey, a non-actor in the Minsk Group mediated negotiations, has been seeking to boost its role in the internationally mediated peace process by hinging the success of its US-brokered negotiations with Armenia to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favoring its ally Azerbaijan.

President Gul also thanked Obama for his remarks on America's relationship with Muslim world delivered in Cairo early last month

A non-actor in the Karabakh conflict, Turkey has been seeking to boost its role in the peace process by hinging the success of its negotiations with Armenia to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict currently being mediated by the US, France and Russia through the OSCE Minsk Group.