Politics
Türkiye has made it clear that, despite its defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, it will not send troops onto the territory of another country to conduct operations against Yemen’s Houthi movement.
Türkiye has made it clear that, despite its defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, it will not send troops onto the territory of another country to conduct operations against Yemen’s Houthi movement. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made the statement during a joint press conference in Ankara with his Hungarian counterpart. He said the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement concluded among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye is strictly defensive in nature and is not intended to support offensive military operations.
Fidan said that if any country participating in the agreement were attacked, the other members would provide full support for its defense. However, Türkiye would not deploy its troops to attack another country on its own territory. He added that Turkish and Saudi military officials were closely assessing the kingdom’s defense requirements, particularly in the areas of air defense, electronic warfare capabilities and technical assistance. According to news reports, Türkiye is already providing Saudi Arabia with basic defense and technical support, including military equipment, intelligence, surveillance and assistance with defense planning.
Meanwhile, according to Pakistan’s military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed the presence of Pakistani military personnel in Saudi Arabia during an interview with foreign media. He said defense relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia span several decades and that Pakistani military contingents have been stationed in the kingdom for a long time under various arrangements.
Reports indicate that an emergency meeting of the strategic political and defense committee of the Mecca Defense Alliance was held in Riyadh in recent days, attended by representatives of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. During the meeting, the participants decided to move forward immediately with their collective defense commitments and approved the prompt deployment of the necessary military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia.
According to the joint statement, retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood has been appointed as the first secretary-general of the Mecca Defense Alliance for a three-year term. The joint statement emphasized that the security of each of the three countries is an integral part of their collective security, adding that implementing the defense agreement would demonstrate their commitment to collective defense in practical terms.
