Morsi says Cairo, Washington can be 'real friends'_美文

Morsi says Cairo, Washington can be 'real friends'

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.