President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with more than 40 foreign leaders since he won the Nov. 8 election, but his transition team has provided few details about what is discussed in those conversations.

That has left plenty of room for the foreign leaders to offer their interpretations of these phonecalls, ranging from the discreet to the effusive.

The latest example came Wednesday, with the Pakistani government issued a statement saying that its prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, spoke to Mr. Trump and “felicitated him on his victory.”

The Pakistani government recounted Mr. Trump’s end of the conversation this way: “You have a very good reputation. You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way…Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people.”

In its own readout released late Wednesday night, the Trump transition team said the men had a "productive conversation" about "a strong working relationship" between the U.S. and Pakistan. Mr. Trump also said he is "looking forward to a lasting and strong personal relationship with Prime Minister Sharif."

Recounting details of these calls is tricky territory, and Trump transition officials have said that they feel it would be inappropriate to give all the specifics of discussions that Mr. Trump is having with foreign leaders when President Barack Obama is still the U.S. leader. But that silence has allowed other countries to fill in the blanks, often with different results.

The British government offered a much more buttoned-up version of a phone call Mr. Trump recently had with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, saying on Tuesday that “they discussed how the President-elect’s transition plans were progressing and agreed that their teams should continue to build close relationships through this period, including with a meeting of their national security advisers in the United States before Christmas.”

Saudi Arabia issued a statement saying King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud sent Mr. Trump a “cable of congratulations” that said “I am pleased to send you, on behalf of the people and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in my own name, the best congratulations and wishes of good health and happiness for you and the friendly people of the United States of America further progress and prosperity.”

South Korea’s readout drew a lot of attention, as it said Mr. Trump relayed to President Park Geun-hye on Nov. 10 that “We will be steadfast and strong with respect to working with you to protect against the instability in North Korea."

During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump had threatened to pull back U.S. military support from South Korea unless Seoul agreed to pay more for U.S. protection. Complicating things, Ms. Park said this week that she would be willing to resign as she faces possible impeachment over a corruption scandal.

In perhaps one of Mr. Trump’s most closely watched relationships, Russia has given its interpretation of conversations Mr. Trump has held with President Vladimir Putin.

During the conversation, "Putin and [Mr. Trump] not only agreed to assess the current very poor state of Russian-American relations, but also spoke in favor of active joint work to their normalization and removal in the direction of constructive cooperation on a wide range of issues,” the Kremlin said.

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