U.S. allies and opponents saw the clash and called for peace in Washington, DC, Wednesday as a violent crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump have led to the belief that the election was stolen. he stormed the Capitol building.
Trump-loyalist insurgents, including some from far-right violent groups, ran across police lines and stormed the Capitol, disrupting the process to formalize Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
While the illegality and chaos unfolding within Congress was news around the world, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas he tweeted that “the enemies of democracy will be delighted to see these incredible images of #WashingtonDC.” He also asked Trump to finally accept his electoral defeat.
“The revolted words become violent acts, on the stairs of the Reichstag and now in the #Chapter,” Maas added. “Contempt for democratic institutions is devastating.”
In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the scenes “embarrassing”.
“The United States represents democracy around the world and now it is vital that there is a peaceful and orderly transfer of power,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his people were “deeply disturbed and saddened by the attack on democracy in the United States.”
“Violence will never succeed in nullifying the will of the people,” Trudeau said. “Democracy in the United States must be maintained and it will be.”
In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who has maintained a combative and uncomfortable relationship with Trump over the president’s criticism of the security alliance, called the violence “shocking,” a statement that had an added weight considering that similar statements are usually made by him during times of great unrest in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and other places.
“The outcome of these democratic elections must be respected,” Stoltenberg said he tweeted.
Several other foreign officials and leaders also spoke, including the President of the European Commission:
The Spanish Prime Minister:
The Australian Prime Minister:
And the Norwegian Foreign Ministry:
Carl Bildt, the former prime minister of Sweden and current president of the European Council on Foreign Affairs, has tweeted that the violence and occupation of the Capitol signaled “the looting of democracy”.
He included in his message a photo of a smiling man wearing a Trump cap and wearing a lectern bearing the seal of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The scenes of violence were especially shocking to those for whom the US has been a model of freedom and democracy.
Two Eastern European officials told BuzzFeed News that the scenes were more reminiscent of events in eastern Ukraine in 2014, when Russia-backed separatists stormed government buildings after Moscow’s friendly president was ousted. demolished. They also compared it to what happened in Kyrgyzstan in October, when supporters of the opposition party occupied the Parliament building after elections considered fraudulent.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because their countries rely on the US for support.
One of them said that “they would never have imagined that this would happen in the United States.”
“It’s crazy,” the official added.
Turkey, a NATO country that faced its own coup attempt in 2016, called for a calm and lawful solution. “We call on all parties in the US to maintain restraint and prudence,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. statement. “We believe the US will overcome this internal political crisis in a mature way.”
The ministry also advised Turkish citizens in the US to avoid crowded areas and places where protests take place.
Venezuela, a frequent move by Trump over the dangers of socialism, also issued a statement feigning concern about violence in the U.S., which said that The Venezuelan elections are illegitimate. “Venezuela condemns the political polarization and spiraling violence, which call for reflection on the deep crisis the U.S. political and social system is experiencing right now,” the statement said. “With this unfortunate episode, the United States is suffering the same thing it has caused in other countries with its policy of aggression.”
Meanwhile, foreign news from the UK BBC to that of Russia TASS a France 24 and beyond there was live coverage of the events at the Capitol.
When sunset fell on a busy Washington, DC, Trump posted a one-minute video on Twitter instantly urging people he had previously urged to stand up to stand up, but not again falsely claiming that he had defeated Biden by a “election landslide.”
