World leaders reach out to congratulate Trump after improbable win

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is ready to try to restore good relations with the United States in the wake of the election of Donald Trump. Putin said Wednesday at a ceremony accepting the credentials of new ambassadors that "we aware that it is a difficult path, in view of the unfortunate degradation of relations between the Russian Federation and the United States." Putin says "it is not our fault that Russian-American relations are in such a state." (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has congratulated Donald Trump, calling him a "true friend of the State of Israel." Netanyahu said Wednesday he believes the two leaders "will continue to strengthen the unique alliance between our two countries and bring it to ever greater heights." (Reuters)

Pope Francis did not mention the U.S. elections during his Wednesday audience, but secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, offered Trump congratulations in a statement to Vatican Radio that "his government can be truly fruitful." He added the Vatican offered its prayers "that the Lord illuminates and sustains him in service of his country, naturally, but also in service of the well-being and peace of the world." Parolin concluded by noting that "there is need for everyone to work to change the global situation, which is in a situation of severe lacerations and great conflict." (Reuters)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered President-elect Donald Trump "close cooperation" on the basis of shared trans-Atlantic values that she says include respect for human dignity regardless of people's origin, gender or religion. Merkel told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that the campaign which ended in Trump's victory featured "confrontations that were difficult to bear." Merkel stressed Germany's close historical connection with the United States. She said: "Germany and America are connected by values: democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for the dignity of human beings, independently of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views." (Reuters)

South Sudan's Minister of Information and government spokesman Michael Makuei says Trump "will be better after all" for his nation. Makeui says "I really doubt President Obama had any clear policy to South Sudan other than to destroy it. So we will definitely expect better relations with Trump ... and the U.S.A. after the election." (Reuters)

 European Union leaders have invited U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to come visit the 28-nation bloc as possible to assess trans-Atlantic ties. With "sincere congratulations," EU Council President Donald Tusk and his Commission counterpart Jean-Claude Juncker, photographed, said that, despite Trump's campaign talk of protectionism and isolationism, both sides "should consolidate the bridges we have been building across the Atlantic."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says in a statement that he "congratulates the elected American president, Donald Trump, and hopes that peace will be achieved during his term." An Abbas aide, Saeb Erekat, said Wednesday he doesn't expect U.S. positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to change under Trump. Erekat said the Republican and Democratic parties are both committed to a two-state solution of the conflict and "I think this will not change with the coming administration."

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Donald Trump to extradite a U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen -- blamed by Ankara for the failed coup in July -- as soon as he is sworn in. Binali Yildirim also said Wednesday that he hoped that the new leadership in the United States would take into consideration Turkey's "sensitivities concerning the fight against terrorism," give priority to policies that would bring peace and stability to the region and advance traditional friendship between the two countries. Ties between the two allies have been strained over perceptions in Turkey that the United States is reluctant to arrest and extradite Gulen. (Reuters)

Germany's foreign minister says the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is "different than most people in Germany would have wanted, but of course we have to respect it." Frank-Walter Steinmeier says that Donald Trump's victory means "nothing is going to get easier. A lot will get harder." (Reuters)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Donald Trump in a message posted on Twitter.  Modi tweeted that "we appreciate the friendship you have articulated toward India during your campaign. Trump had reached out to Indian-American voters at a rally in New Jersey in mid-October, praising Modi and vowing to defeat terrorism. (Reuters)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has lashed out at Barack Obama for criticizing his deadly anti-drug crackdown, has congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Duterte says he looks forward to working with the new American leader to further enhance the treaty allies' relations. Duterte, who took office in June, has had an uneasy relation with the U.S. The 71-year-old leader has announced his desire to scale back joint combat drills with the U.S. military and end the presence of foreign troops, including Americans, in the country in two years. (Reuters)

The first French presidential candidate to comment on the U.S. election was populist, anti-immigrant politician Marine Le Pen, congratulating Trump even before the final results are known. Le Pen, hoping to ride anti-establishment sentiment to victory in April-May French presidential elections, tweeted her support to the "American people, free!" (Reuters)

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." (Reuters)

Fortune Magazine reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Donald Trump on winning the U.S. presidency and told Trump over the phone: “I place great importance on the China-U.S. relationship, and look forward to working with you to uphold the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.” (Reuters)

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of congratulations to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, saying "the American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly." Kenyatta says Wednesday that "the ties that bind Kenya and the United States of America are close and strong. They are old, and based in the values that we hold dear: in democracy, in the rule of law, and in the equality of peoples." (Reuters)

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands while posing for the family photo at the North American Leaders' Summit in Ottawa. Trudeau released a statement saying he looks forward to working closely with Trump. (Reuters)

Egypt's president has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the U.S. presidential election, saying Cairo wants to see more "cooperation and coordination" between the two nations to bolster stability and peace in the Middle East. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi telephoned Trump to offer his congratulations. He also invited the next U.S. president to visit Egypt. Cairo receives more than $1 billion dollar annually in U.S. military and economic aid under an assistance program that began in the 1970s to reward Egypt for signing a peace treaty with Israel. (Reuters)

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 U.S. 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." (Reuters)

Indonesia's president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo says the world's most populous Muslim nation will work with Donald Trump's new U.S. administration. He says "we will keep good relations, especially in trade and investment as we know the U.S. is one of Indonesia's major investors. I think there will be no change." But, Komaruddin Hidayat, a noted Indonesian Islamic scholar, saysTrump's election as U.S. president is "shocking" for many people in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation (Reuters)

British Prime Minister Theresa May has congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, saying the two countries will remain "strong and close partners on trade, security and defense." In a statement, May said Trump had won after "a hard-fought campaign." (Reuters)

Iran's semi-official news agency Tasnim has quoted the country's foreign minister as saying that the United States needs to implement its part of multilateral international commitments under last year's historic nuclear deal. The comments Wednesday by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif came after businessman Donald Trump's election as U.S. president. (Reuters)

The European Union's foreign policy chief says that the trans-Atlantic ties with the United States go beyond the election of Donald Trump. Federica Mogherini said Wednesday in a Twitter message that "EU-US ties are deeper than any change in politics. We'll continue to work together, rediscovering the strength of Europe." (Reuters)

Hungary's prime minister says Donald Trump's victory is "great news" and shows "democracy is still alive." Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been often criticized by the United States, including by Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state, for weakening the democratic system of checks and balances. Orban offered his congratulations to Trump on his Facebook page. (Reuters)