LONDON — As Joe Biden was declared president-elect Saturday, congratulatory messages poured in from leaders around across the world. But several have remained notably silent, including some of President Donald Trump's long-term allies.

Despite being an ideological ally, Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro, who is often referred to as "the Trump of the Tropics," has stayed mum about Biden's victory.

Ahead of the election, Bolsonaro, a far-right populist, threw his support behind Trump and called Biden's comments that Brazil should suffer "significant economic consequences" if devastation of the Amazon rainforest continues "disastrous."

Before the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would work with any U.S. leader, but there has been no official comment from the Kremlin about Biden's win.

Throughout his term, Trump has been accused of being sympathetic to Putin, whom he has called "a strong leader," despite intelligence reports that Russian interfered in the 2016 election.

Biden has been much tougher in his stance on Russia, calling it the biggest threat to U.S. national security last month — an assessment the Kremlin said encouraged hatred of Russia.

But Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay insisted Sunday that Biden's win would not change relations between the old allies.
Even before the election, China had said that it does not get involved in the affairs of other countries, and President Xi Jinping had not issued any public statements on Biden's victory.

China's relations with the U.S. deteriorated dramatically under Trump over trade, technology, the coronavirus pandemic, human rights and Beijing's growing international assertiveness.

But while Trump's rhetoric toward China has turned increasingly bellicose in his last year in office, Biden has at times gone even further, having previously referred to Xi as a "thug."

However, some people in China's capital, Beijing, said they were relieved by Biden's victory.

"I was happy to learn that Biden won, because during Trump, he made the ties between the U.S. and China very tense," said Zhou Tianfu, 55, a car wash worker in Beijing. "We hope there will be peace under Biden."