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World leaders come to terms with Bush win
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-04 09:20

A divided world came to terms on Wednesday with the prospect of four more years of US President Bush, with friends hailing his re-election and critics vowing to make the best of it, especially in Iraq.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures as he introduces the members of Italian delegation to Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin, November 3, 2004. Berlusconi is on a two-day official visit in Russia. [Reuters]

Allies like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saw Bush's victory as bolstering the U.S.-declared "war on terror." But some disenchanted Europeans urged him to heal transatlantic rifts.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose outspoken opposition to war in Iraq angered Washington but helped him win re-election in 2002, sought common ground with Bush.

"Our security and stability are threatened by international terrorism, the risk of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, regional crises, poverty, climate change and epidemics. These challenges can only be met together," Schroeder said in a telegram.

French President Jacques Chirac, another fierce critic of last year's Iraq war, congratulated Bush and also spoke of "our joint fight against terrorism."

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush salute and wave during an election victory rally Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. [AP]

Bush's staunchest ally in the Iraq conflict, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, told parliament that peace in the Middle East was key to defeating terrorism and the world must work with Bush to achieve it.

"The need to revitalize the Middle East peace process is the single most pressing political challenge in our world today," Blair told reporters later.

Many Arabs forecast further bloodshed in the Middle East because of what they saw as the misguided policies of Bush, who has backed away after seeing his peace "road map" for the region shredded by violence.

ANTI-TERROR CAMPAIGN

Elsewhere, politicians and commentators said continuity in the White House had its merits and Bush supporters abroad focused on what they saw as the president's more resolute anti-terror line three years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

In dramatic proof of the changes in Moscow in the past 20 years, Putin said victory for Bush meant the United States had not allowed itself to be cowed by terrorists.

"I can only feel joy that the American people did not allow itself to be intimidated, and made the most sensible decision," he told a Kremlin news conference.

Berlusconi, also in Moscow, said: "Bush will continue with the policy that assigns the United States the role of defender and promoter of freedom and democracy."

In Poland, which like Italy has troops in Iraq backing U.S. forces, President Aleksander Kwasniewski said that on terrorism Bush "is a very decisive leader who is right, simply right" and that continued cooperation with him was "really good news."

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq after his March election win following Madrid attacks claimed by a group linked to al Qaeda, expressed his wish to work with Bush.

BUILD BRIDGES

The U.S. election was watched intently around the world with issues of deep international interest, including the Iraq conflict and the state of the U.S. economy, dominating the race.

The European Union said it looked forward to strengthening ties with the United States.

Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik spoke for several countries when he said: "I hope that (Bush) will try to build bridges ... and do more to cooperate via international organizations."

Both sides in the Middle East conflict congratulated Bush.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in Paris, where he is undergoing medical tests, that he hoped Bush's second term would lead to Middle East peace and "guarantee the just national rights of the Palestinian people," an aide said.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose country enjoys strong support from the world's only superpower, said: "We congratulate the American people for their choice."

But with the exception of Israelis and some Iranians, Middle Eastern peoples reacted with resigned disappointment.

Khaled Maeena, editor of Saudi newspaper Arab News, said: "Four more years means (Bush) will be relentless in fighting so-called terrorism. More innocent people will be victims ... All the Saudis I've seen so far are disappointed."

Analysts said Bush would need to restore goodwill eroded by U.S. opposition to worldwide issues such as the Kyoto pact to fight global warming -- a top issue for Britain's Blair -- and the International Criminal Court.

"(Kyoto is) not an easy issue for Bush to shift on. He may be prepared to make some cosmetic, face-saving shifts to try and help Blair, but I can't see him making a fundamental shift of position," said British politics professor Wyn Grant.

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