Turkey Refers Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to Parliament

Al-Taj News – Three parliamentary sources said that Turkey has referred the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to Parliament for ratification, in a move that brings Ankara closer to approving formal mutual defense commitments, at a time when Saudi Arabia is facing attacks by the Houthi militia.

The three countries signed the agreement on August 7 last year, and it stipulates that any armed attack against one of its parties is considered an attack against all of them, without the statement issued at the time of its signing specifying the nature of each country’s military commitments.

Two sources said that Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who is currently in Kyrgyzstan, will refer the agreement to the Foreign Affairs Committee after his return to Turkey, while a third source stated that the committee may discuss it starting Friday. The agreement must receive the approval of the Turkish Parliament to officially enter into force.

A Turkish official, who requested anonymity, was quoted as saying that Ankara’s contribution is expected to be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing, and weapons systems, adding that no decision has yet been made regarding any other form of military deployment within the alliance.