Former US President Jimmy Carter has urged Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to "give it up" when the primary season ends early June, a CNN report said Monday.

Carter, in an interview with Sky News Sunday, defended Clinton's "perfect right" to keep running in the three remaining primaries in Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana.

But, after the nomination race concludes on June 3 with all pledged delegates yielded, the uncommitted superdelegates should "make a decision quite rapidly," he told Sky News.

"I have not yet announced publicly, but I think at that point it will be time for her to give it up," he added.

Although Carter has not yet endorsed either Clinton or her Democratic nomination rival Barack Obama, he has spoken out frequently in favor of the latter.

Hillary Clinton's campaign team tried to downplay Carter's remarks by saying "he is free to make whatever decision he thinks is appropriate with regard to presidential choice".

"Both Senator Clinton and (former) President Clinton have a great deal of respect for (former) President Carter and have enjoyed their relationship with him over the years," said Clinton's spokesperson Howard Wolfson.

Though short of declaring victory in the Democratic presidential nomination race, Senator Obama of Illinois is getting closer to the ultimate prize each day.

Obama has won the majority of the 3,253 pledged delegates going to the national Democratic convention in August. He has won 32 of the past 53 Democratic primaries and caucuses, versus Clinton's 21.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2008)