World reactions to strikes against Afghanistan
Compiled from wire reports.
President Bush emphasized strong global support Sunday for US-led military strikes against Afghanistan and militant Osama bin Laden, saying Britain participated in the initial attack and other nations would join in as the operation
Bush, announcing the beginning of what he called a "sustained, comprehensive and relentless" campaign against terrorism, described Britain as a "staunch ally," and said 40 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and across Asia had granted the air transit or landing rights.
"We are supported by the collective will of the world," Bush said in a televised speech from the Treaty Room in his White House residence, shortly after making telephone calls to leaders of several nations, including Russia and Germany.
Britain supports US with military assistance
Blair also confirmed that British forces are involved in strikes against Afghanistan alongside the United States.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke publicly shortly after Bush's announcement, saying the allies would act with "reason and resolve."
Russia backs strikes
Russia backed US strikes against Afghanistan on Sunday, saying that international terrorism should face justice.
A Foreign Ministry statement, read on ORT television, said that Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has become an "international centre of terrorism and extremism" and a safe haven for "terrorists" responsible for crimes in many countries.
"It is time for decisive action with this evil," the statement said.
"Terrorists wherever they are - in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Middle East or the Balkans - should know that they will be taken to justice." Bush forewarned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about attacks on Afghanistan only minutes before the strikes were unleashed, the Kremlin said Sunday, according to Interfax.
Bush called Putin at 8:20 pm (1620 GMT) to inform him of the US military operations against "terrorist" bases in Afghanisation, Interfax quoted Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Sergei Prikhodko, as saying.
Taliban: US attacks are 'terrorist'
The deputy defense minister of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said Sunday that the regime would defend itself "by every means" following US strikes on the country.
Mullah Nur Ali called the US attacks "terrorist" in an interview with the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television station.
He also said the Taliban had shot down an aircraft over the south of the country, without specifying the type or nationality.
"We shot down a plane," he said, adding that he had no more information.
Pakistan: 'Hope the operations will end soon'
Pakistan said Sunday it hoped the attacks on Afghanistan would be swift and carefully targeted to avoid further suffering of the Afghan people.
The foreign ministry also voiced regret that its diplomatic efforts to convince the ruling Taliban militia to comply with the demands of the international community had failed, resulting in military action.
"It remains our hope that the US and allied action remains clearly targeted ... and every care will be taken to minimize harm to the Afghan people who have already suffered the ravages of conflict for more than two decades," a foreign ministry spokesman said.
"We also hope that the operations will end soon and a concerted international effort will be undertaken to promote national reconciliation and help Afghanistan with economic reconstruction."
Israel: 'A brave decision'
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres called the US attack on Afghanistan on Sunday a "brave decision" by Bush.
"I think that all us, first of all, are praying for the welfare of the American army and its allies," Peres said on Israel's Channel Two television in the first official Israeli reaction to the start of the military campaign.
"It is a brave decision by the president, along with (his) very convincing and touching speech," Peres said, referring to Bush's televised address from the White House after the attack got under way.
Peres said that an hour before the attack, "the prime minister (Ariel Sharon) received an announcement from the president...I do not think they gave us or will give us operational details."
Israeli media had reported that Washington gave Israel early warning of the operation several hours before the strike began.
India: 'Strong solidarity and support'
India on Sunday said it supported US action against "the perpetrators of the September 11 strikes" on New York and Washington as Bush announced the launch of attacks against Afghanistan as part of its war on terrorism.
"India at the outset had expressed its strong solidarity and support for action contemplated by US," Nirupama Rao, foreign ministry spokesperson, told AFP.
A more detailed statement was expected on Monday, she said.
Meanwhile a Press Trust of India report said that Bush spoke to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by phone Sunday to inform him of imminent US military operations against Afghanistan.
Iraq condemns strikes
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein condemned Sunday the US-led "aggression" against Afghanistan, state television reported.
Iran calls attacks 'unacceptable'
Iran has condemned the US-led military strikes against Afghanistan as "unacceptable," and warned against any violations of its air or sea space during the operations against its eastern neighbour, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi was quoted by the state IRNA news agency as saying that the "vast US attacks" against Afghanistan were "unacceptable."
"These attacks which have been launched regardless of the world public opinion, especially the Muslim nations, and will damage the innocent and oppressed Afghans are unacceptable," Asefi said.
Asefi also warned the United States against "any action which ... may encroach on the territorial integrity of the Iranian territory."
"America must respect the sea and air territorial integrity of the Islamic republic of Iran and must refrain from any activity which could violate that," he said.
China offers limited support
China on Monday gave qualified backing to US airstrikes against Afghanistan, saying it supported action against terrorism provided it was limited to "specific objectives" and avoided civilian casualties.
China has urged the US-led military alliance to avoid harming citizens in its war on terrorism, just hours after strikes were launched against Afghanistan, state media reported Monday.
Germany: 'Unreserved backing'
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a statement on Sunday the German government gave its "unreserved backing" to US action against what he called "terrorist targets" in Afghanistan. He underscored Germany's "unlimited solidarity" with the United States.
The statement said Bush had informed Schroeder by telephone about the strikes shortly before they happened.
Angela Merkel, the head of the largest German opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union, said she supported the US-led military riposte.
Meanwhile, security measures were quickly stepped up in Berlin, said the spokesman of the city-state's government, Helmut Loelhoeffel.
Italy on alert
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi put Italy on a state of alert Sunday shortly after US military strikes commenced in Afghanistan, his office announced.
Berlusconi has set up a crisis cell at his offices in Rome's Palazzo Chigi under the command of an Italian general, officials said.
They said US Vice President Dick Cheney had telephoned Berlusconi to warn him of the attacks earlier Sunday.
France: 'Our forces will take part'
French forces will take part in military operations launched by the United States and Britain against targets in Afghanistan on Sunday, President Jacques Chirac said.
Chirac, in a nationally televised address, said the attacks would be conducted over a long period. ÒOur forces will take part,Ó he said.
Bush contacted his French counterpart Jacques Chirac on Sunday to tell him the United States was about to launch attacks on Afghanistan, Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said.
Canada: Providing units
Prime Minister Jean Chretien confirmed Sunday that Canada will be providing "a number of units" for the US-led international coalition formed in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks in the United States.
Sweden urges 'proportionate' response
Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said his country supported the United States' strikes in Afghanistan as "self defense" but urged that the US military action be "proportionate" and avoid civilians.
"The Swedish government supports the right of the United States to defend itself against further terrorist attacks," the prime minister said in a press release, citing resolutions 1368 and 1373 of the UN Security Council. "The right to defence includes military action," he said after the United States and Britain launched military strikes against targets in Afghanistan.
However despite the endorsement, Persson expressed his wishes that missile strikes be "proportionate," aimed at specific military targets and that "innocent civilians benefit from the utmost protection."
"The international community must take measures at once to improve conditions for the Afghan people," he said. "The United Nations and the EU must mobilise themselves to ensure access to food and humanitarian aid."
Lebanon disputes US definition of terrorism
Lebanon said the US strikes on Afghanistan on Sunday showed the United States was forcing its definition of terrorism on the world.
"We have no doubt about America's capacity to destroy," Information Minister Ghazi al-Aridi told Reuters. "What is after Afghanistan?...Is it for America to define terrorism and its targets...according to its policies and interests? This is a dangerous matter."
Beirut has condemned the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. But it says the "war on terrorism" should start by ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and that resistance to Israel by Lebanon's Hizbollah and Palestinian militant groups should not be considered terrorism.
Aridi reiterated that position, warning the US campaign was doomed "so long as the Palestinian problem is unresolved."
Japan supports US, British strikes
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced strong support early on Monday for the US-British military action against Afghanistan and ordered a tightening of security in the country.
"Japan strongly supports the action taken by the United States and Britain," Koizumi said at his official residence.
He said he was informed of the US plan by Secretary of State Colin Powell and hoped to talk with President George W. Bush.
Japan also sent six C-130H military transport planes to Pakistan on Sunday with relief supplies for Afghan refugees.
Turkey grants full support
NATO member Turkey gave its full support on Sunday to the US and British air strikes on Afghanistan as part of the international response to the September 11 attacks against the United States.
"Turkey supports the United States as a responsible ally and friend in its struggle against terrorism," Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said in a statement issued after a three-hour emergency meeting of senior politicians with military chiefs of staff and intelligence chiefs. He said Turkey, NATO's only member with a predominately Muslim population, had stepped up security at home and abroad and said he would seek meetings with leaders of the opposition on Monday.
Turkey, a close US ally on the edges of the Middle East for decades, has opened its airbases and airspace to US use and witnesses have reported heavy military cargo aircraft activity at the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey, used by US and British warplanes for patrols of a no-fly zone over |
