Secretary of State Mike Pompeo faces an elephant in the room as he begins a seven-nation trip to US allies -- they have congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his victory and he most certainly has not. 

With President Donald Trump refusing to concede and making unsubstantiated claims of fraud, Pompeo, one of his most loyal aides, has dug in with him.

World leaders have shown no doubt about the election. Leaders who have called Biden to offer congratulations include French President Emmanuel Macron, who will see Pompeo tomorrow in Paris.

Macron is receiving Pompeo at the secretary of state's request and "in full transparency with President-elect Joe Biden's team," a French official said, adding that contacts with Biden are "established and operational."

Pompeo heads after Paris to Istanbul, where his trip has already caused friction. He has no meetings booked with officials in Turkey, with the State Department official blaming scheduling issues, despite a complex relationship between the NATO allies on issues including Syria, maritime tensions with Greece and Ankara's growing military cooperation with Russia.

In Jerusalem, Pompeo will see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz and news site Axios, Pompeo will become the first secretary of state to visit one of Israel's settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are considered illegal by virtually all other countries, and also tour the Golan Heights, whose annexation by Israel was recognized by Trump.

Pompeo will also visit Saudi Arabia, on which Biden has vowed to press harder on human rights, as well as fellow Gulf allies the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. He will in addition visit Georgia.