WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday asserted that there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump Administration, indicating that he believes Donald Trump has won the November 3 presidential elections.
"There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. We are ready. The world is watching what's taking place here. We're going to count all the votes...," Pompeo said.
He was responding to questions from reporters at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department if his department is preparing to engage with the Biden transition team and if not at what point does it delay or hamper a smooth transition or pose a risk to national security.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the elections by major media networks, as is the tradition in the United States.
President-elect Biden has quickly moved on to the transition phase.
Pompeo said that the world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the State Department is functional today, successful today, and successful with the president who's in office on January 20th a minute after noon will also be successful.
"I went through a transition on the front and I've been on the other side of this.
I'm very confident that we will do all the things that are necessary to make sure that the government, the United States government will continue to perform its national security function as we go forward, he said.
Responding to questions if he believed there is widespread voter fraud, Pompeo said that he has been getting calls from all across the world.
"These people are watching our election. They understand that we have a legal process. They understand that this takes time, right? It took us 37 plus days in an election back in 2000. We conducted a successful transition then. I'm very confident that we workout and we must count every legal vote," he said.
"We must make sure that any vote that wasn't lawful ought not be counted. That dilutes your vote if it's done improperly. We've got to get that right. When we get it right, we'll get it right. We're in good shape," he said.
Meanwhile, Pompeo on Tuesday announced that he would leave on a seven-nation tour on Friday that would take him to France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
"The conversations will differ obviously in each country, many different things to cover but I am sure many of them will focus on this administration's historic efforts to forge peace and cooperation throughout the Middle East," Pompeo said at a news conference here.
Pompeo will kick off his November 13 to 23 travel from Paris where he will meet his French counterpart and President Emmanuel Macron of France to build on their transatlantic work on economic and security matters, and on counterterrorism and global threats.
Following Paris, Pompeo will travel to Istanbul, Turkey to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, to discuss religious issues in Turkey and the region and to promote strong stance on religious freedom around the world.
Pompeo's last stop in Europe will be Tbilisi, Georgia to meet with the country's president, prime minister, and Foreign Minister Zalkaliani, to express his support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to urge further progress in democratic reforms.
He will also meet with the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Ilia II, said Cale Brown, Principal Deputy Secretary.
The Secretary will then travel to Israel where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Abraham Accords, and joint efforts to address Iran's malign activities.
Next, he will travel to the United Arab Emirates and meet with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayd to discuss security cooperation and regional issues.
He will also travel to Qatar to meet with Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including the importance of Gulf unity, a media release said.
Pompeo's final stop will be in Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.