New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has become the latest world leader to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden in a phone call, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is still refusing to acknowledge the U.S. election win.
Driving the news: Biden's transition team said in a statement late Sunday he "expressed his intent to strengthen the U.S.-New Zealand partnership" and looked forward to working closely on challenges including containing COVID-19, tackling climate change and "reinforcing multilateralism."
- "The president-elect also praised the prime minister's extraordinary leadership after the 2019 Christchurch massacre, on COVID-19, and as a working mother and role model," per the statement.
- Following on from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Ardern invited Biden to New Zealand for the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS security treaty — noting in an Instagram post the president-elect's 2016 visit to the country, which she said "he remembers fondly."
For the record: Biden has received congratulations from a plethora of world leaders, from the China to the United Kingdom.
- But Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, Mexico's Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Putin are among the few to say they're awaiting the results of President Trump's legal challenges, which former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has called "a national embarrassment" for lacking evidence.
- Bloomberg reports that Putin told Russian TV Sunday, "We will work with anyone who has the confidence of the American people. But that confidence can only be given to a candidate whose victory has been recognized by the opposing party, or after the results are confirmed in a legitimate, legal way."
