PARIS (AFX) - The US joined its arch-foe Iran today in hailing the justice of Saddam Hussein's execution, but European powers opposed the use of capital punishment even though they condemned the former dictator's crimes in Iraq.
US president George Bush said Saddam had received the kind of justice he denied his victims.
Some key US allies expressed discomfort at the execution. And Russia, which opposed the March 20, 2003 invasion to oust the dictator, and the Vatican expressed regret at the hanging which some Muslim leaders said would exacerbate the violence in Iraq.
Bush was asleep at his Texas ranch when the hanging of Saddam was carried out in Baghdad after he had been found guilty of crimes against humanity, the White House said.
He called the execution 'an important milestone' on the road to building an Iraqi democracy though he warned in a statement it would not end the deadly violence there.
The US president said Saddam 'was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime.'
'Fair trials were unimaginable under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule,' said Bush, calling the trial 'a testament to the Iraqi people's resolve to move forward after decades of oppression.'
Bush acknowledged that the execution came 'at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops.'
'Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself,' he said.
Iran, the influential neighbour of Iraq and arch-foe of the US administration, also welcomed the execution.
'With regards to Saddam's execution, the Iraqi people are the victorious ones, as they were victorious when Saddam fell,' said Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Reza Asefi, in remarks reported by the IRNA news agency.
Saddam Hussein was reviled in Iran for a 1980 attack that sparked an eight-year war that cost around 1 mln lives on both sides.
Israel, a strong US ally and enemy of Saddam, also hailed the hanging. 'Justice has been done,' a high-ranking Israeli official told Agence France-Presse.
'We are talking about a man who sparked fire and bloodshed in the Middle East time and again, and who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people,' said the official on condition of anonymity.
Britain, the main US ally in Iraq, said Saddam Hussein had been 'held to account' but reiterated its opposition to the use of the death penalty, as did Australia, another key supporter of the US invasion.
'I welcome the fact that Saddam Hussein has been tried by an Iraqi court for at least some of the appalling crimes he committed against the Iraqi people,' said British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett.
'He has now been held to account. The British government does not support the use of the death penalty, in Iraq or anywhere else. We advocate an end to the death penalty worldwide, regardless of the individual or the crime.'
Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer said: 'No matter what one might think about the death penalty, and the government of Iraq is aware of the Australian government's position on capital punishment, we must also respect the right of sovereign states to pass judgement relating to crimes committed against their people, within their jurisdictions.'
Downer added in a statement: 'He has been brought to justice, following a process of fair trial and appeal, something he denied to countless thousands of victims of his regime.'
But there was also condemnation of the execution.
Russia's foreign ministry expressed regret, saying that international calls for clemency had been ignored.
'Unfortunately, the many appeals from representatives of various countries and international organisations for Iraq's authorities to hold back from capital punishment were not heard,' a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Russian lawmakers warned the execution could worsen the violence.
India, which had warm ties with the Saddam regime, also condemned the execution. 'We had already expressed the hope the execution would not be carried out. We are disappointed that it has been,' said foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee in a statement.
The ruling Hamas movement in the Palestinian territories called the execution of Saddam a 'political assassination'.
'Saddam Hussein was a prisoner of war,' a Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhum, told AFP. The 'hanging ... is a political assassination that violates all international laws that are supposed to protect prisoners of war.'
Libya declared three days of national mourning after the execution, with official media also calling Saddam a 'prisoner of war'.
Malaysia, a leading Muslim nation, warned the execution of Saddam could trigger more bloodshed.
'A lot of people, the international community generally, are not in favour of the hanging and question the due process that took place,' Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, whose country is current chair of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, told AFP.
Outside of Britain, European reaction, led by the European Union (EU), focused on opposing the death penalty.
'The EU condemns the crimes committed by Saddam and also the death penalty,' Cristina Gallach, a spokeswoman for Javier Solana, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, told AFP.
France, a high profile opponent of the Iraq invasion at the United Nations, called on Iraqis to end their divisions.
'France calls upon all Iraqis to look towards the future and work towards reconciliation and national unity. Now more than ever, the objective should be a return to full sovereignty and stability in Iraq,' the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
But France along with Germany also highlighted Europe's opposition to capital punishment.
German junior foreign minister Gernot Erler said that his country 'understood' the feelings of the victims of Saddam's brutal regime but remained opposed to capital punishment.
Among other major powers, Japan said it respected Iraq's decision to carry out the execution.
'Japan hopes Iraq will turn into a stable country and will continue supporting the country together with the international community,' Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.
The Vatican saw the hanging as 'tragic news', Vatican spokesman Frederico Lombardi said.
'There is a risk that it feeds the spirit of vengeance and plants the seeds for fresh violence,' he said. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/cw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited