Iraq war: Where the nations stand

The United States' war to topple Saddam Hussein has elicited strong responses from leaders and prominent figures around the world.

The following is a roundup of some of those reactions:


SUPPORTING WAR:

AFGHANISTAN

ALBANIA

AUSTRALIA
Committed a 2,000-strong force, including 150 special forces, despite opinion polls showing two-thirds of Australians oppose their country's involvement.
"Whatever view we may have on this matter, we should all be united in our prayers for their (the troops) safe return," Prime Minister John Howard told a news conference after the war began.

AZERBAIJAN

BRITAIN
Washington's chief ally on Iraq has sent or committed 45,000 military personnel, planes and warships. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been adamant about pursuing war despite a historic party rebellion over Iraq. Officials said he would only speak once British forces were substantially engaged in the war.

COLOMBIA

CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK

EL SALVADOR

ERITREA

ESTONIA

ETHIOPIA

GEORGIA

HUNGARY

ICELAND

IRELAND
Irish lawmakers voted to keep Shannon Airport open to US forces bound for Iraq, a policy that opposition leaders called an abandonment of Ireland's neutrality. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said preventing US military aircraft from refueling at Shannon would be "a hostile act." More than 35,000 US troops bound for the Gulf have passed through Shannon, a popular transatlantic refueling point. Ahern insisted this did not amount to supporting the American-led attack on Iraq.

ITALY
Opened airspace and bases to the US but, sensitive to public opposition to war, said its forces would not participate in offensive operations. "Unfortunately diplomatic efforts have come to an end and the forced disarming of Saddam Hussein is a tragic necessity," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

JAPAN
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, putting a security alliance with the US ahead of public opinion, reiterated his moral backing for Washington. Some 80 per cent of Japanese voters oppose a US-led attack on Iraq.
"President (George W. Bush) said that this was not an attack on the people of Iraq but was meant to give them freedom and a prosperous life...I think so too, and I support Bush's policy," Koizumi said.

KUWAIT

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

MACEDONIA

NETHERLANDS

NICARAGUA

PHILIPPINES
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Manila gave political and moral support, calling it "part of the coalition of the willing".

ROMANIA

SOLOMON ISLANDS

SOUTH KOREA
President Roh Moo-hyun expressed support and added that he would make diplomatic efforts to ensure the war does not worsen relations with North Korea.
"We decided it is in our best interest to support the United States...I think this (war) was an unavoidable step taken to eradicate weapons of mass destruction after the failure of diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue peacefully," he said.

SPAIN
One of the staunchest supporters of the use of force to disarm Saddam, Spain has made two of its airbases available to the US and sent a hospital ship and 900 personnel to the Gulf but its own troops will not be involved in any attacks.
"We have assumed our responsibilities. There were more comfortable options, but we don't want to pass on to the future risks that we should confront in the present," Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar told the nation.

SLOVAKIA

TONGA

TURKEY

UZBEKISTAN


OPPOSED TO WAR:

CANADA
Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who had said an attack on Iraq would be unjustified, did not criticise the US when the war began, saying he hoped it would be short with a minimum of casualties.
"At this point I think there is no use debating the reasons why some people think war is necessary and some people think it is not," he told reporters. "We should not say anything that would comfort Saddam Hussein."

CHINA
Called for an immediate halt to military action and a return to efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully.
"This constitutes a violation of the UN charter and the basic norms of international law...we hope to see an immediate halt to military action and a return to the path of a political settlement," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

FRANCE
President Jacques Chirac said in a televised speech France regretted the start of war and saw serious consequences for the future no matter how long hostilities lasted.

GERMANY
Germany said it was dismayed by the start of the US-led military campaign. Germany has planned to more than double its troop presence in Kuwait but insisted it would take no part in military action.
"This is grim news as war is always the worst of all solutions," Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said.

INDIA
India said it recognised the validity of the world's desire to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction but that "military action was avoidable" and lacking in justification judging from statements made by UN weapons inspectors.

INDONESIA
President Megawati Sukarnoputri said Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, "strongly denounced" the strike and called it a threat to world order.
"The Indonesian government calls on the Security Council of the United Nations...to hold an emergency meeting to urge the United States and its allies to halt the war," he said.

IRAN
Iran called the start of attacks on its western neighbour illegitimate and unjustifiable. Although Iran has little sympathy for Saddam Hussein, with whom it fought a war in the 1980s, it has said an invasion to topple him will increase instability in the Middle east.

MALAYSIA
The attack on Iraq is "a black mark in history", deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, denouncing Washington and its allies and saying the world economy would suffer.
"A large and powerful nation, along with its allies, has acted with disregard for international law, humanity and universal justice...Anti-American sentiment around the world will rise, as will extremism and militancy," he said.

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand has pledged $3.3 million for immediate emergency relief for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are expected to flee their homes. But Prime Minister Helen Clark has ruled out a call by National to send medical personnel to the combat zone.
"This Government will not be assisting a war for which there was no case at this time," she said during a special statement to Parliament soon after hostilities began.

PAKISTAN
A key US ally in the war against terror, Pakistan said it deplored strikes and would continue pushing for peace. "There is no way that the government of Pakistan would want to support military attack on the brotherly people of Iraq," said Foreign Minister Mian Mehmood Kasuri. Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called the attack "a black mark in history".

RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned US military action against Iraq and called for a rapid end to US operations. "Military action can in no way be justified. Military action is a big political error," he said.

SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia said it was deeply concerned and regretted the start of military action against Iraq. The oil-rich US ally said it will take no part in the conflict.

TURKEY
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer criticised the US attack, saying the UN Security Council process on Iraq should have been allowed to finish.

VATICAN
The Vatican said it was deeply pained by the outbreak of war.


DIVIDED:

EUROPEAN UNION
EU president Greece said relations between Europe and the United States were in crisis. "We all regret that we haven't been able to solve this problem in the international community in a united way and peacefully," Foreign Minister George Papandreou of Greece, the current EU president, told Reuters before an emergency debate in the European parliament.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq