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BERLIN / LONDON / OTTAWA (Reuters) – Some of America’s closest and biggest allies were quick to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in Saturday’s presidential election despite Donald Trump, with whom several have had difficult relationships, he had not yet relented.
Germany, Canada and France, which have had strained ties to the Trump administration despite being its G7 and NATO partners, were among the first to acknowledge Biden’s victory, shortly after major American television networks declared it. .
“I look forward to future cooperation with President Biden,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement on Twitter. “Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we are to overcome the great challenges of our time.”
Merkel’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz went further and suggested that a Biden administration could mark a reestablishment of transatlantic ties.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he hoped to address “the world’s greatest challenges” with the new administration, including climate change, an issue many nations have sparred with Trump.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has had a much more fluid relationship with Trump, also took up the issue of climate change by congratulating Biden.
“The United States is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.”
Washington formally resigned from the Paris agreement on limiting greenhouse gas emissions on Wednesday, fulfilling Trump’s pledge to withdraw the world’s second-largest emitter from the pact. Biden has promised to rejoin the deal if elected.
“The Americans have chosen their president,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted. “We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together!”
Many leaders did not mention Trump, but Spain’s far-left Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias said his departure as president would leave the far-right weakened around the world.
“It is confirmed that Trump lost the elections. It is good news for the planet, as the world extreme right loses its most powerful political asset,” Iglesias tweeted.
IRISH AND INDIAN PRIDE
Ireland, where Biden has his family roots, called him the 46th president of the United States, despite Trump accusing Biden of “rushing to falsely pose as the winner.” Trump has complained of electoral fraud without providing evidence.
“Ireland is proud of the election of Joe Biden, just as we are proud of all generations of Irish women and men and their ancestors, whose work and genius have enriched the diversity that powers America,” said Prime Minister Micheal. Martin in a statement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi singled out Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris in his congratulatory tweet. Harris, whose mother immigrated from India, becomes the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to win the second highest vice president of the United States.
“Her success is groundbreaking and a source of immense pride not only for her Chittis, but also for all Indian Americans,” Modi wrote, using the Tamil word for “aunts” that Harris had used when he accepted the Democratic Party vice presidency. nomination.
Egypt, one of Washington’s biggest allies in the Middle East, also congratulated Biden, as did Lebanon, which has had strained relations with the United States.
On Friday, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Gebran Bassil, leader of Lebanon’s largest Christian political bloc and son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, accusing him of corruption and ties to the armed Shiite group Hezbollah.
Aoun said on Twitter that he expected balance in Lebanese-American relations to return under the Biden administration.
TRUMP ALLIES, RUSSIA MORE CAUTION
Nations with closest ties to Trump were silent Saturday night or were reluctant to proclaim Biden as president-elect.
Polish President Andrzej Duda congratulated Biden for running “a successful presidential campaign” and said Poland will maintain a high-quality strategic partnership with Washington while “we await the Electoral College nomination.”
Russia, however, did not immediately comment. US intelligence officials accuse the Kremlin of intervening in the 2016 campaign to help Trump get elected, accusations he denies.
In the run-up to the vote, President Vladimir Putin appeared to hedge his bets, scowling at Biden’s anti-Russian rhetoric but welcoming his comments on nuclear arms control. Putin also defended Biden’s son Hunter against Trump’s criticism.
The governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia, whose leaders are among Trump’s closest allies in the Middle East, were also silent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment, and a photo of him and Trump remained at the top of the radical Israeli leader’s Facebook page.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said he looked forward to working with Biden in seeking peace in neighboring Afghanistan.
The Trump administration has been withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in a deal with Taliban insurgents, which Kabul and its allies have long viewed as backed by Pakistan.
(Reporting by Michael Holden in London, Thomas Escritt and Andreas Rink in Berlin, David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Jessica Jones in Madrid, Graham Fahy in Dublin)
