Morsi says Cairo, Washington can be 'real friends'

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Before embarking on his first visit to the United States since becoming Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi said Washington in the past earned ill will in the Middle East by backing pro-Western rulers but now he envisions the two countries being "real friends".

Morsi is heading to New York early on Monday to attend the UN General Assembly meeting. In an interview with the New York Times published on Saturday, he also said that the US should not judge Egypt by its own standards - an apparent reaction to resentment in the Muslim country against an anti-Islam video produced in the US.

It was his first interview with a US publication since becoming president in the aftermath of the 2011 overthrow of Washington's key strategic ally, Hosni Mubarak.

Meanwhile, Morsi urged the US to change its approach to the Arab world to be able to repair relations and revitalize an alliance with Egypt.

He said, "Successive American administrations essentially purchased with American taxpayer money the dislike, if not the hatred, of the peoples of the region.”

According to the newspaper, he was referring to US backing of governments in the region and Washington's unconditional support for Israel.

The remarks followed days of violent anti-US protests in Cairo sparked by the amateur anti-Islamic film posted on YouTube. During these events Morsi called on demonstrators to show restraint while condemning the film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad.

Morsi praised US President Barack Obama for moving "decisively and quickly" to support the "Arab Spring", arguing that the US supported "the right of the people of the region to enjoy the same freedoms that Americans have".

But he also expressed concern about the plight of Palestinians, who still don't have their own state, the paper said.

Americans, he pointed out, "have a special responsibility" for the Palestinians because the US had signed the 1978 Camp David accord, which called for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza to allow for full Palestinian self-rule.

"As long as peace and justice are not fulfilled for the Palestinians, then the treaty remains unfulfilled," he said.

According to The Times, Morsi was evasive when asked if he considered the US an ally.

"That depends on your definition of ally," he said, adding that he considered the two nations "real friends".

The issue was thrust to the forefront of bilateral relations earlier this month, when President Obama suggested that Cairo was neither an ally nor a foe.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland and other top administration officials then tried to distance from Obama's comment by acknowledging that officially Egypt was still "major non-NATO ally".

Egypt was granted such status under US law in 1989, allowing it to enjoy a close relationship with the US military, along with other allies including Australia, Japan, Jordan, Israel and Thailand.

Questions:

1. Which publication did Mohammed Morsi interview with?

2. What did Morsi call on demonstrators against the anti-Islamic film posted on YouTube to show?

3. What did President Obama say about Cairo?

Answers:

1. The New York Times.

2. Restraint.

3. It was neither an ally nor a foe.

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.