Countries in quarrels with the United States have expressed muted positions following the violence committed by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump in Congress, while Washington's allies continued to denounce these actions and call for a peaceful transfer of power.

Commenting on Trump's supporters storming the Congress building in Washington on Wednesday during a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate to ratify Joe Biden's victory, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani considered today, Thursday, that Western democracy is "fragile and weak."

In a speech broadcast on state television, Rouhani warned of the rise of "populism".

"A populist (came to power) and caused disaster in his country during his four years in power. I hope the whole world and the next officials in the White House will learn a lesson," he said, referring to Trump.

For its part, Venezuela, which is subject to severe sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, said that the United States is drinking from the same cup that it drove to other countries through what it described as its aggressive policies.

President Nicolas Maduro accused the Trump administration of being behind the coup attempts against him, and also accused it of planning to invade Venezuela.

For its part, the Beijing embassy issued a statement warning Chinese citizens of what it called the dangerous situation that resulted from large demonstrations in Washington, which necessitated the imposition of a curfew.

In this context, the Chinese newspaper Global Times published an article in which it mentioned Washington's support for the violent protests in Hong Kong as a struggle for freedom.

Johnson described the scenes of the storming of Congress as shameful (Getty Images)

Condemnation and shock


On the other hand, German Chancellor Angela Merkel today joined Western leaders who condemned the storming of Congress.

Merkel expressed her sadness and anger, and pointed the finger of accusation about what happened to the outgoing president, and her Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called yesterday evening for Trump's supporters to "stop trampling on democracy."

In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said today that what happened yesterday does not reflect the true face of the United States, and his Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the Trump supporters' storming of the Capitol as a serious violation of democracy.

Also, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned yesterday evening what he described as "shameful scenes", stressing the need for there to be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power in the United States.

We are still in the old continent, where the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Joe Biden was the one who won the recent US presidential elections, stressing the peaceful handover of power.

Commenting on the Capitol events, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bild described it as a revolt.

The Secretary-General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, expressed his shock at what happened, stressing the need to respect the outcome of the US elections.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, urged political leaders in Washington to respect the democratic process and the rule of law.

Other positions


and outside Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his deep concern over what he saw as an attack on democracy in the United States.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Capitol events today, describing them as a heinous act, while his Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that they hurt hearts.

In the same context, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed today the necessity of continuing the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.

In Latin America, the presidents of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, and Colombia's Ivan Duque were among the leaders who condemned the violence against Congress.


Human rights

violence and intimidation

, Amnesty International said today that the outgoing US president incited violence and intimidation.

As for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Yemeni activist, Tawakkol Karman, said today that Trump has done everything in his power to overthrow his country's democracy.