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Obama receives congratulations from world leaders

2008-11-07 13:23:42

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, Associated Press

Writer 1 hr 54 mins ago

CHICAGO President-elect Obama accepted congratulations from nine presidents

and prime ministers Thursday, returning calls from world leaders who reached

out after his presidential victory.

The global financial crisis was among the topics Obama discussed with key U.S.

allies he'll deal with during his administration.

Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the president-elect spoke to Australian

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French

President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime

Minister Ehud Olmert, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Mexican President

Felipe Calderon, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and British Prime

Minister Gordon Brown.

Sarkozy's office says they spoke for 30 minutes and characterized the

discussion as "extremely warm" as the president congratulated Obama on a

"brilliant" election victory. The statement said they discussed international

issues, particularly the financial crisis, and agreed to meet in the "quite

near future."

Harper's office said in a statement that they spoke about an international

financial summit in Washington on Nov. 15 and its importance for addressing the

global financial crisis. Obama had no plans to attend the meeting.

The prime minister's office says the two leaders emphasized that there could be

no closer friends and allies than the United States and Canada and vowed to

maintain and further build upon the relationship. Harper's office called it a

warm exchange and said they agreed to talk again soon.

Calderon's office said Obama pledged continued U.S. support for Mexico's fight

against organized crime and drug trafficking. A statement from the Mexican

president's office says Obama told Calderon he was "conscious of the difficulty

of the battle" and offered "decisive" U.S. support.

Congress approved $400 million in anti-drug aid for Mexico last June, but has

yet to release the money.

Olmert's office said the two "discussed the need to continue and advance the

peace process, while maintaining the security of the State of Israel." Israel

and the Palestinians relaunched talks nearly a year ago at a U.S.-sponsored

peace conference, and they set a year-end target for a final accord. But no

breakthroughs have been reported, and in Israel on Thursday, Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice all but conceded that goal was unachievable.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday congratulated Obama on his

election win in a letter, the first time an Iranian leader has offered such

wishes to a U.S. president-elect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Iranian

leader also said he hopes Obama will "use the opportunity to serve the

(American) people and leave a good name for history" during his term in office.

In his conversation with Lee, Obama said the U.S.-South Korea alliance is a

"cornerstone" of Asia's peace and stability, and promised improved relations

between the countries, Seoul's presidential office said.

The United States helped defend South Korea during the Korean war and is its

No. 1 ally. About 28,500 American troops are still stationed there to deter

threats from communist North Korea.

Brown's Downing Street office says he and Obama spoke about several issues,

including reform of the global financial system. Britain's Press Association

newswire said the two had a "very friendly and positive" 10-minute

conversation, covering topics including the world economy, the situation in

Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Middle East peace process.

Australia's prime minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in Sydney that he spoke by

telephone with Obama Friday to congratulate him on his historic win and discuss

the various challenges the lie ahead for the world, chief among them the global

financial crisis. The two also talked about the issues of national security and

climate change during the 10- to 15-minute conversation, Rudd said.

"It was a good conversation, it was a friendly conversation," Rudd said. "The

challenges we face are great....But I believe we have a strong partner in the

U.S."

Ulrich Wilhelm, a spokesman for Merkel, said in an e-mail that the German

chancellor and Obama, in their conversation, "agreed that close cooperation is

the best way to tackle the countless challenges that face the world's nations,

from Iran's nuclear program and the stabilization of Afghanistan to climate

change and the financial markets crisis."