US President Barack Obama has told Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erodgan that the US will not sell weapons to his country if he does not change his attitude toward Israel.

Administration officials told London’s Financial Times that Mr Erodgan had been told directly by Obama that some actions that Turkey had recently taken had raised the question of whether the US should it as an ally.

President Obama’s dialogue with Mr Erdogan is being seen as particularly serious at a time when Turkey has been attempting to buy American drone aircraft to attack Kurdish extremist group, the PKK.

Ankara has been asked to adopt a more conciliatory tone with Israel following the IDF raid on the Turkish owned Gaza-blockade ship, Mavi Marmara.

President Obama is also known in Washington to have been angry about Turkey’s recent vote in the UN against sanctions on Iran.