Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye will discuss ways to support Riyadh under their joint defence agreement, Islamabad announced today. At the same time, an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff of the three countries is being planned.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that the three countries condemn the attacks against Mecca, as well as against Saudi Arabia’s political and economic infrastructure. They also support Riyadh’s right to defend its security.
The chiefs of the armed forces of the three countries will examine ways in which they could assist Saudi Arabia.
The defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could develop into a broader pact of the “Muslim world”, which would also include Iran, the speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly said today, according to Reuters. He said he expected it to be submitted for ratification next month.
The three regional powers signed the “Joint Mecca Defence Pact” in August, a few weeks before the attacks launched by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia as part of the wider war in Iran.
The pact includes a clause similar to Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all. International agreements require parliamentary approval to enter into force.
“The meetings currently taking place between the three countries are preparatory,” Numan Kurtulmuş told journalists in Ankara. “I expect this issue to be placed on the parliament’s agenda during the upcoming session,” he added, referring to the resumption of the National Assembly’s work after the recess, in October.
Asked whether the pact is directed against Iran, Kurtulmuş repeated Türkiye’s position that it is not directed against any specific country. He said its main aim was to guarantee the security of the region’s states amid conflicts and Israel’s “hostile policies”.
He also said that Tehran could theoretically join the pact. “We never viewed the Mecca Agreement as a pact against Iran; it should not be that way. In fact, we hope it will become a broader pact for the Muslim world. Iran can join the agreement, and we hope it will become much stronger with the participation of other regional countries,” he said.
Ankara has said it could help Riyadh meet its military needs, particularly on technical issues. Officials say, however, that any support at this stage would be provided on a bilateral basis and “in the spirit” of their alliance, given that the Mecca Agreement has not yet been ratified.
Source: CNA
