The Kuwaiti government expressed on Monday that it has no intention to cut off relations with the Arab countries which denounced the execution of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah made the remarks after a National Assembly (parliament) session on Monday.

Sheikh Mohammad was quoted as saying that Kuwait has taken into consideration the official positions taken by the Arab countries towards the Saddam execution, noting that "the official Arab stance was in consort with that of Kuwait."

However, he voiced astonishment at those claiming Saddam was a martyr or hero, pointing out that Saddam was a criminal who had severely tortured his people and Iraq's neighbors.

Sheikh Mohammad regretted for the stance adopted by Libya when it declared mourning for "a person" who had invaded "an Arab country" that is a friend to Libya, adding according to KUNA.

Asked whether Kuwait would cut off ties with Libya, Sheikh Mohammad answered, "No, we only bitterly express Libya's stance in lowering its flag to half-staff and its declaration of official mourning."

Underlining that what is important right now is to bury the past, he said, "We are eager to foresee a new approach in the Arab world that would forsake dictatorship, oppression and mass killing similar to what we have seen in Iraq."

Saddam Hussein was hanged on Dec. 30, 2006 after found guilty on a previous case of Dujail town.

The hanging sparked anger among Sunni people who consider the way of execution as sectarian revenge and the timing of the execution on the first day of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, or Greater Bairam as insult for them.

Source: Xinhua