Myanmar leader Thein Sein has said in an interview he would accept Aung San Suu Kyi as president if elected, but added he could not alone amend rules that bar her from power.

Former general Thein Sein has paid rare tributes to Myanmar's Nobel laureate during a landmark tour of the United States where he has burnished his reformist credentials by insisting his country will continue its strides toward democracy after decades of army rule.

The Myanmar leader, whose meeting with Suu Kyi in New York marked the latest sign of warm relations between the nation's leader and its most famous former political prisoner, told the BBC there were "no problems" between them.