 World leaders on Wednesday expressed their shock as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed here the U.S. Capitol building where Congress meets in an attempt to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election won by Joe Biden.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “saddened” by the events at the U.S. Capitol, his spokesman said.
“Distressed to see news about rioting and violence in Washington DC,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. “Orderly and peaceful transfer of power must continue. The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted through unlawful protests.”
“What happened today in Washington DC is not American, definitely,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video message on Twitter.
“We believe in the strength of our democracies. We believe in the strength of American democracy,” he said, speaking in English.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a tweet called the events in the U.S. Congress a “disgrace”, saying the United States stood for democracy around the world and that was it was “vital” now that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.
“Quite Maidan-style pictures are coming from DC,” Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy posted on Twitter, referring to protests in Ukraine that toppled Russian-backed President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich in 2014.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the violent protests in Washington “shocking scenes” and said the outcome of the democratic U.S. election must be respected./Reuters |