"Hungary's government hails the Iraqi people who can finally say that they are for freedom and against the threat of weapons of mass destruction, along with the democratic majority of the world," Medgyessy said in a statement late Wednesday.

"While the war has not ended with this day, the regime led by Saddam Hussein has collapsed."

Medgyessy said Hungary was firmly committed to restoring peace in Iraq as soon as possible and starting the democratic reconstruction of the country.

Hungary "supports every international initiative that aims to create a democratic Iraq after the war, and offers economic aid," he said.

Medgyessy also highlighted the symbolic toppling of a huge statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad on Wednesday.

"We Hungarians who remember October 1956 know what this means," he said, referring to Hungary's uprising against Soviet domination and the removal of statues of Stalin from the streets of Budapest.

SPACE.WIRE