'Disgraceful': World Leaders React to Pro-Trump Riot in US Capital
The spectacle transfixed people around the globe.
"Disgraceful scenes in US Congress," Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain tweeted. "The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power."
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, "Violence is incompatible with the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms."
Many public intellectuals in the birthplace of fascism described the scenes in Washington as reminiscent of events in Italy in the 1930's.
Images of violence and confusion in the US, which often casts itself as a role model for democracies, made German Chancellor Angela Merkel both angry and sad.
"A basic rule of democracy is that after elections there are winners and losers," Merkel said. "Both have their part to play with decency and responsibility so that democracy itself remains secure. And I very much regret that President Trump has not admitted defeat since November and failed to do so again yesterday."
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned, "Insurgent words turn into violent acts." And noting the wider effect, he said in a tweet, "The enemies of democracy will be delighted at these terrible images from Washington DC."
Official reaction has been muted in Russia, where many people are celebrating the Orthodox Christmas holiday. President Vladimir Putin spent Orthodox Christmas Eve attending mass in a small church at a remote lake, for instance. But his foreign ministry addressed the chaos in the US capital.
"The events in Washington show that the US electoral process is archaic, does not meet modern standards and is prone to violations," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to state-run RIA Novosti news agency. She added, "We wish that the friendly American people will survive this dramatic moment in their own history with dignity."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was monitoring the situation closely and with concern.
"I think the American democratic institutions are strong, and hopefully everything will return to normal shortly," Trudeau told the News 1130 Vancouver radio station, according to Reuters.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's minister for foreign affairs, called for the situation to be quickly resolved for the good of the US and other democratic countries, according to NPR.
"While people in Palestine & in many other places in the world are struggling to achieve democracy, there are those in the US who are actively sabotaging theirs," Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi tweeted. "Despots everywhere thrive on repression, oppression, & violence."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote that the "outcome of this democratic election must be respected."
