Biden takes calls with leaders of UK, France, Germany as transition gets underway

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President-elect Biden conducts calls with foreign leaders

President-elect Joe Biden receives congratulatory calls from foreign leaders; Gillian Turner reports.

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke to foreign leaders and key allies as he moved ahead with his presidential transition — with the leaders of the U.K. and France among those first to speak to the incoming president.

Biden spoke to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, when, according to a readout of the call, Biden expressed "his desire to strengthen the special relationship and re-double cooperation on issues of mutual concern,” mentioning issues including climate change and COVID-19.

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“The President-elect expressed his interest in cooperating with the U.K., NATO, and the EU on shared transatlantic priorities, and reaffirmed his support for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland,” the readout put out by his presidential transition team said.

Biden has previously warned that there will be no U.S.-U.K. trade deal if the U.K. undermines the Good Friday agreement.

Biden also spoke to the leaders of Ireland, France and Germany, having spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.

With French President Emmanuel Macron, Biden spoke of “reinvigorating bilateral and transatlantic ties, including through NATO and the E.U.” He also was said to have talked about working on global challenges including “Iran’s nuclear program.” Biden has pledged to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, from which President Trump withdrew the U.S. in 2018.

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The calls signify the acceptance by world leaders of Biden’s victory in last week’s election, something that U.S. media outlets -- including Fox News -- have projected for Biden, but that President Trump has so far refused to accept. He has instead claimed that he has won the contest and alleged mass voter fraud though his campaign has not yet provided evidence for a multistate mass voter fraud effort.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that he predicts a “smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”

Johnson, who will be banking on a U.S.-U.K. trade deal for when Britain finalizes its departure from the European Union at the end of the year, tweeted out his record of the call, saying he had congratulated him on his election win.

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“I just spoke to @JoeBiden to congratulate him on his election. I look forward to strengthening the partnership between our countries and to working with him on our shared priorities – from tackling climate change, to promoting democracy and building back better from the pandemic,” he tweeted.

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.