Morsi says Cairo, Washington can be 'real friends'

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.