US must change approach to regional countries: Morsi

Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has called on the United States to fundamentally change its approach towards the regional countries, saying that the US should show greater respect for values in these nations.

“Successive American administrations essentially purchased with American taxpayer money the dislike, if not the hatred, of the peoples of the region…I prove my independence by taking the correct acts for my country,” said Morsi in an interview with the New York Times on Saturday.

“If you want to judge the performance of the Egyptian people by the standards of … American culture, then there is no room for judgment ….When the Egyptians decide something, probably it is not appropriate for the US When the Americans decide something, this, of course, is not appropriate for Egypt,” he added.

He went on to say that Americans “have a special responsibility” for the Palestinians since the United States had signed the 1978 Camp David accord which called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and Gaza.

Referring to the full Palestinian self-rule, Egyptian president noted that “as long as peace and justice are not fulfilled for the Palestinians, then the treaty remains unfulfilled”.

In January 2011, Egyptians launched a revolution against the US-backed, pro-Israeli Hosni Mubarak regime, which eventually brought an end to the 30-year rule of the dictator in February 2011.

On June 24, after days of delay, Egypt’s Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission announced that Morsi had won the country’s June 16-17 run-off presidential election.