MEXICO CITY (AP) – Leaders from around the world welcomed the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden and the end of Donald Trump’s often conflicted presidency, noting that the world’s most pressing problems, including the COVID-19 pandemic and changes demand multilateral cooperation, an approach that Trump ridiculed.
Many expressed hope on Wednesday that Biden will repair the world’s largest democracy two weeks after watching the rioters invade the Capitol, shaking the faith of those fighting for democracy in their own countries.
The targeted and sanctioned governments under Trump embraced the chance for a fresh start with Biden, while some heads of state who praised Trump’s mix of nationalism and populism were more contained in their expectations for the Biden government – and in some cases spoke nostalgically from the Trump years.
But the chance to repair worn-out alliances and work together to solve problems that extend beyond any country’s borders has won.
Biden “understands the value and importance of multilateralism. He understands the importance of cooperation between nations, ”said former Colombian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos, who left office in 2018.
“In fact, if we don’t cooperate – all nations – to fight climate change, we will all die. As simple as that, ”said Santos.
French President Emmanuel Macron also noted the urgency to address the dangers the world faces from climate change after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate deal, a move that Biden was expected to reverse in the early hours of his presidency.
With Biden, “we will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet, ”he wrote on Twitter. “Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!”
Elsewhere in Europe, close allies of the U.S. have finally seen a chance to get out of the cold after security problems and economic relations with the Trump administration.
“This new dawn in America is the moment we have been waiting for so long,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, hailing Biden’s arrival as “overwhelming proof that, again after four long years, Europe has a friend at the White House. “
European Council President Charles Michel said that transatlantic relations “have suffered a lot in the past four years. In these years, the world has become more complex, less stable and less predictable. “
“We have our differences and they are not going to magically disappear. America seems to have changed, and as it is perceived in Europe and the rest of the world it has also changed, ”added Michel, whose open criticism of the Trump era contrasted with the silence that reigned mainly in Europe while the Republican leader was in Branca. House.
In Germany, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a video statement, calling Biden’s inauguration a “good day for democracy”.
“Despite attempts to tear America’s institutional fabric apart, electoral workers and governors, the judiciary and Congress have all been strong,” he said.
With Biden and new Vice President Kamala Harris, Steinmeier said the United States would again be a “vital partner” in dealing with issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security issues, including gun control and disarmament, and various conflicts .
In Ballina, Ireland, where Biden’s great-great-grandfather was born in 1832, a mural of a smiling Biden adorned a city wall, where some of the president’s relatives still live.
“As I take the oath of office, I know that President Biden will feel the weight of history – the presence of his Irish ancestors who left Mayo and Louth in times of hunger in search of life and hope,” said Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.
Pope Francis urged Biden to help promote reconciliation in the United States and to build a society “marked by authentic justice and freedom” and that takes special care of the poor.
The “serious crises” faced by all of humanity require insightful responses, said Francis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who formed close ties with Trump, noted a “warm personal friendship” with Biden. “I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the US-Israel alliance … and to address common challenges, especially the threat posed by Iran,” said Netanyahu.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who accused Trump of unfair prejudice against Israel with policies such as the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, expressed hope for Biden’s more impartial approach. He called for “a comprehensive and just peace process that meets the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom and independence”.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose country has a tumultuous relationship with Washington, having been criticized for helping the Afghan Taliban, said in a tweet that he hoped to build a stronger partnership through trade, economic involvement and fighting change climate change.
In Latin America, Biden faces immediate immigration challenges and the leaders of the two most populous countries – Brazil and Mexico – were friends of Trump. The Trump administration has also taken a hard line against the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, extending painful sanctions.
In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro’s government has called for a dialogue with the Biden government, while waiting for the new president to abandon the avalanche of damaging sanctions that Trump has imposed to attempt regime change.
Some Venezuelans, however, such as retired accountant Jesús Sánchez, 79, said he was disappointed to see Trump step down. Trump supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó, giving Venezuelans like him the hope that Maduro’s days in power were numbered.
Carlos Vecchio, Guaido’s envoy in Washington whom the United States recognizes as Venezuela’s ambassador, tweeted photos of himself in Biden’s possession. The invitation to attend was praised by Venezuela’s opposition as proof that the Biden government will continue its strong support and resist Maduro’s pleas for a dialogue that the United States has vehemently rejected.
Cuban leaders may have a more realistic hope of improving relations: Biden was at the White House for the historic meltdown of relations in 2014, and several officials expressed a willingness to reopen the dialogue with Washington if there was respect for Cuba’s sovereignty.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel protested Trump via Twitter, citing “more than 200 measures that have toughened the financial, commercial and economic blockade, an expression of a despicable and inhumane policy”.
In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who cultivated an unexpectedly friendly relationship with Trump and was one of the last world leaders to acknowledge Biden’s victory, read in a letter he sent to Biden in 2012, asking for a reorientation of the bilateral relationship away from security and military aid and development.
He asked Biden to implement immigration reform and added: “We need to maintain a very good relationship with the United States government and I have no doubt that it will be so.”
__
Cook reported from Brussels. AP writers Nicole Winfield in Vatican City, Kathy Gannon in Islamabad, Laurie Kellman and Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Alex Sanz in Atlanta, David Rising in Berlin, Joshua Goodman in Miami, Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Scott Smith in Caracas, Venezuela , Sylvie Corbet in Paris, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.