Mexico City (PA) – Leaders around the world welcomed the arrival of US President Joe Biden and the end of Donald Trump’s often confrontational presidency, noting the world’s most pressing issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, require multilateral cooperation, an approach ridiculed by Trump.
Many expressed hope on Wednesday that Biden would lead the world’s largest democracy two weeks after seeing the insurgents storm the Chapter, shaking the faith of those fighting for democracy in their own countries.
Governments targeted and sanctioned under Trump embraced the chance for a new beginning with Biden, while some heads of state praising Trump’s mix of nationalism and populism were more restrained in their expectations of the Biden administration – and in some cases spoke with nostalgia for the Trump years.
But the chance to repair torn alliances and work together to solve problems that extend beyond the borders of any country has given birth.
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 do not cooperate – all nations – to fight climate change, then we will all perish. It’s as simple as that, “Santos said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also noted the urgency of addressing the dangers facing the world due to climate change, after Trump withdrew the US from the Paris climate deal, a move that Biden would reverse in the early hours of the presidency its.
With Biden, “we will be stronger to meet 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 US allies have finally seen a chance to get out of the cold after strained economic and security 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 “a resounding proof that, once again after four long years, Europe he has a friend in the White House. “
European Council President Charles Michel said that transatlantic relations “have suffered greatly over the last four years. In recent years, the world has become more complex, less stable and less predictable. ”
“We have our differences and they will not magically disappear. America seems to have changed the way it is perceived in Europe and the rest of the world, too, ”added Michel, whose open criticism of the Trump era contrasted with the silence that had reigned in most of Europe over time. what the Republican leader was in the White House.
In Germany, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a video statement calling Biden’s inauguration a “good day for democracy.”
“Despite attempts to break America’s institutional fabric, election workers and governors, the judiciary and Congress have proven strong,” he said.
With Biden and new Vice President Kamala Harris, Steinmeier said the United States would once again be a “vital partner” in addressing issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security issues, including arms control and disarmament and multiple conflicts.
In Ballina, Ireland, where Biden’s great-grandfather was born in 1832, a mural of a smiling Biden adorned a wall in the city, where some of the president’s relatives still live.
“As he takes 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 famine in search of life and hope,” said Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.
Pope Francis urged Biden to help encourage reconciliation in the United States and to build a society “marked by genuine justice and freedom” and to look especially at the poor.
The “grave crises” facing all mankind require clairvoyant answers, Francis said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been closely linked to Trump, noted a “warm personal friendship” with Biden. “I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the US-Israel alliance … and to meet common challenges, including the threat posed by Iran,” Netanyahu said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who accused Trump of unfair bias against Israel with policies such as moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, expressed hope for a more balanced approach from Biden. He called for “a comprehensive and equitable peace process that meets the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom and independence.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose country has had a tumultuous relationship with Washington, has been criticized for helping the Afghan Taliban, said in a tweet that he looks forward to building a stronger partnership through trade, economic engagement and countering change. climate.
In Latin America, Biden faces immediate immigration challenges, and the leaders of the two most populous countries – Brazil and Mexico – have been dizzy with Trump. The Trump administration has also taken a hard line against the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, extending the painful sanctions.
In Venezuela, the government of President Nicolás Maduro has called for dialogue with the Biden administration, while hoping the new president will abandon the avalanche of harmful sanctions imposed by Trump to try a regime change.
However, some Venezuelans, such as 79-year-old retired accountant Jesús Sánchez, said they were disappointed to see Trump step down. Trump backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó, giving Venezuelans like him hope that Maduro’s days in power were numbered.
Carlos Vecchio, Guaido’s envoy to Washington, whom the United States recognizes as Venezuela’s ambassador, posted photos of him on Twitter at Biden’s inauguration. The invitation to participate was backed by the Venezuelan opposition as proof that the Biden administration will continue its strong support and resist Maduro’s demands for a dialogue that the US has so far rejected.
Cuban leaders probably have a more realistic hope for improved relations: Biden was in the White House for the historic thaw of relations in 2014, and several officials have expressed a desire to reopen a dialogue with Washington if it respects Cuba’s sovereignty.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel spoke out against Trump on Twitter, citing “more than 200 measures that have tightened the financial, trade and economic blockade, the expression of a contemptuous and inhuman policy.”
In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who cultivated an unexpected friendship with Trump and was one of the last world leaders to acknowledge Biden’s victory, read from a letter he sent to Biden in 2012. , calling for the reorientation of the bilateral relationship away from security military aid and development.
He urged 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 it will.”
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Cook reported from Brussels. AP writers Nicole Winfield in the Vatican, 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 at Paris and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.