World reacts to Donald Trump as US president
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 9 November 2016
World leaders woke up to Donald Trump presidency this morning, expressing a range of opinions, from shock to disbelief, while others called this a positive result.
Marine Le Pen
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday as the Republican appeared close to victory in the US presidential election. Le Pen, who heads the anti-immigration National Front (FN), tweeted: “Congratulations to the new president of the United States Donald Trump and to the free American people”.
Mahmud Abbas
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s office on Wednesday called on US president-elect Donald Trump to work towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, with peace efforts with the Israelis long at a standstill. “We are ready to deal with the elected president on the basis of a two-state solution and to establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders,” spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP, referring to the year when Israel occupied the West Bank.
Geert Wilders
Dutch anti-Islam populist lawmaker Geert Wilders has tweeted his congratulations to Donald Trump. Wilders, whose Freedom Party is riding high in opinion polls ahead of Dutch elections due in March, calls Trump’s win in the presidential election “A historic victory! A revolution.” Looking ahead to the Dutch vote, Wilders finished his tweet: “We also will give our country back to the people of the Netherlands.” Wilders is known for his strident anti-Islam rhetoric and opposition to the Netherlands’ European Union membership.
Germany
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on German television on Wednesday that Republican Donald Trump’s move towards an unexpected victory in the US presidential election was a “huge shock”.She told broadcaster ARD: “I think Trump knows that this was not a vote for him but rather against Washington, against the establishment.”
South Korea
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said on Wednesday that he believed Donald Trump would maintain the current US policy of pressuring North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests, if he wins the presidential election. “Candidate Trump has expressed his clear position by saying after North Korea’s nuclear test that such provocation by the North is a direct threat to the United States,” Yun said.
Cuba
Earlier, news of Trump’s widening lead hit hard in Cuba, which has spent the last two years negotiating normalization with the United States after more than 50 years of Cold War hostility. Normalization has set off a tourism boom in Cuba and visits by hundreds of executives from the US and dozens of other nations newly interested in doing business on the island. Trump has promised to reverse Obama’s opening with Cuba unless President Raul Castro agrees to more political freedom on the island, a concession considered a virtual impossibility. Speaking of Cuba’s leaders, Communist Party member and noted economist and political scientist Esteban Morales told the Telesur network that “they must be worried because I think this represents a new chapter.”
Indonesia
Indonesians on social media are questioning why Americans have voted in big numbers for billionaire Donald Trump, who many in the world’s most populous Muslim country perceive as intolerant and reactionary.
Some people say that under a Trump administration they fear they’ll be prevented from visiting relatives and friends who live in America or traveling there as tourists. About 100,000 Indonesians live in the United States. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo says on national television that his government will work with whoever becomes president.
China
China said it will work with the new US president to ensure the steady and sound development of bilateral ties. Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, made the remarks at a regular news briefing on Wednesday as Republican Donald Trump moved to the brink of winning the White House.
Turkey
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election on Wednesday and said Ankara would strengthen its “trust-based relations and cooperation” with the United States. He made the comments on his Twitter account.
The Philippines
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte offered “warm congratulations” to US president-elect Donald Trump and looks forward to working with him to enhance relations, a Philippine minister said on Wednesday. Duterte, who has expressed outrage almost daily with the Obama administration and threatened repeatedly to end one of Washington’s most important Asian alliances, hailed the success of US democratic system and the American way of life, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.
Russian speaker
The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament said on Wednesday Moscow hoped for more constructive dialogue with the United States now that a new president had been elected, the TASS news agency reported. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said parliament would welcome any steps in these directions.
(With Agencies)
