Uk, Germany Support Us, France Voices Reservations

British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind, speaking in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, declared: We strongly support the action that has been taken by the US against Iraq.

In London, defence secretary Michael Portillo warned there could be further attacks if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein continued to threaten his own people.

German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel described the 27 cruise missile strikes against air defence targets as an appropriate and justified response to Iraqi military attacks against Kurds in the north.

The Iraqi side violated the (Kurdish) safety zone in northern Iraq and caused a great amount of bloodshed, he said. In the view of the German government, the US response was appropriate and justified...

 

But in Moscow, a source in the Russian foreign ministry, quoted by Interfax news agency, said the situation in the Gulf was extremely dangerous after the strikes in southern Iraq. The source said Moscow was watching events with growing concern, adding: The situation could get out of control. Developments in the Gulf region are taking an extremely dangerous turn.

In Cairo, the foreign ministry spokesman said: Egypt is following with deep concern the current incidents on the Iraqi land and accompanied military movements and the use of force in north and south Iraq, increasing tension inside Iraq and the region and threatening civilian lives.

France withheld its support, making its reservations clear in a foreign ministry statement which said Paris had been informed in advance of the operation but made no comment on the merits of the raid. France expresses its concern at the development of the situation in Iraq, the statement said.

French officials said President Clinton telephoned President Jacques Chirac to inform him of the impending action. Chirac made clear he understood Clinton's motives, in the midst of the US presidential election campaign, but differed on the appropriateness of military action, they added.

Spain, one of the United States' NATO allies, said it wished Washington had delayed the strike. (Our reaction) is one of understanding, although we would have wanted that armed intervention to be, at least, postponed, foreign minister Abel Matutes told a radio interviewer.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Jerusalem his country was following events in Iraq closely but would continue with life as normal.

We are following the events. We are in close contact with the government of the United States and should there be a need for any kind of action, we'll take it, he said after meeting German defence minister Volker Ruehe.

Baghdad launched dozens of Scud missile attacks on Israel while battling a US-led alliance during the 1991 Gulf War.

In Beijing, China called for restraint from Washington and Baghdad. We hope all sides will not take action that could further aggravate the situation in that area, foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a regular news briefing in Beijing. We hope all sides will restrain themselves.

Japan said it supported the strikes as a way to ensure Iraqi compliance with UN resolutions that ended the 1991 Gulf War. Japan understood and would appropriately support efforts to achieve the goals of the UN resolutions, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said in Tokyo. Government spokesman Kazo Watanabe told reporters Japan accepted such attacks if Iraq continues its provocative attitude.

Iraqi opposition and Kurdish groups welcomed the attacks, but expressed concern about possible civilian casualties.

We welcome any action to reverse Saddam Hussein's invasion of northern Iraq, a spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress (INC) told Reuters in Istanbul. But we are concerned about civilian casualties. Saddam often puts military facilities in residential areas.The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) faction said it hoped this attack would pave the way for Saddam's downfall.This is a first step to undermine Saddam Hussein's regime, the PUK's Latif Rashid told Reuters from London.