Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are taking “concrete steps” to make a recently signed joint defence pact operational, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday.
Fidan said officials from the three countries were in technical talks regarding the agreement’s “institutional structure,” including its headquarters, personnel and working arrangements.
Ankara hopes to further expand the trilateral pact, he added, without naming potential new members.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed last month amid steadily widening regional conflict.
Under the agreement’s terms, an armed attack on Türkiye, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia would be viewed as an attack on all three, echoing the collective-defence principle underpinning the Western NATO alliance.
What this means in practice, however, remains uncertain, especially in light of recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The pact’s three founding members must first establish consultation and decision-making mechanisms and determine what kind of joint military response would follow an external attack.
Previous public statements suggest that activation would not automatically trigger military action, while implementation will also depend on each country’s constitutional process, including parliamentary approval where necessary.
Speaking to reporters, Fidan reiterated Ankara’s support for Saudi Arabia, saying it was “unacceptable” that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom was facing attacks “from both the south and the north,” including strikes that Riyadh claims were carried out from Iraqi territory.
Fidan’s remarks followed a series of missile and drone attacks on Saudi military and energy infrastructure by Yemen’s Houthi group.
The Saudi air force, meanwhile, has reportedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Yemeni territory.
Responsibility for several of these incidents remains disputed, with the Houthis denying Riyadh’s claims that the Yemeni group had targeted holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
In a related development, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin visited Pakistan on Thursday, where he met his Pakistani counterpart, Asim Malik, along with Pakistan’s prime minister and defence chief.
According to Turkish security sources, talks covered bilateral cooperation, regional security, and the political and economic consequences of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
They also reportedly assessed the risks of a widening regional conflict, including escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Ansar Allah group, also known as the Houthis.
The talks also reportedly touched on the Mecca pact as a potential framework for consultation, deterrence and coordinated action.
Ongoing technical discussions suggest that the pact remains a strictly political commitment, the credibility of which will depend on agreed procedures and how members respond to future attacks.
Iran has ordered a Swedish diplomat to leave the country, after Stockholm expelled an Iranian embassy staffer, as diplomatic tensions between Tehra...
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are taking “concrete steps” to make a recently signed joint defence pact operational, Turk...
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European ...
Saudi Arabia said its air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it could enter prohibited airspace over the holy city, as attacks by the Iran-aligned group deepen regional tensions.
Russian air strikes injured 13 and damaged buildings in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday, officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped the war against Iran was nearing its end and that Tehran wanted to reach a deal, but Iran dismissed his comments as “mixed signals” as the conflict approaches its seventh month.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
World leaders are gathering in New York for the UN General Assembly as the world faces one of its most challenging periods in decades. The high-level debates begin Tuesday against the backdrop of wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, AI, climate change and the race for a new UN chief.
Nigerian authorities have opened an investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died while being held at a detention facility in Niger State, an incident that has sparked public outrage, protests and renewed scrutiny of detention conditions in the country.
Saudi Arabia’s 1,200‑kilometre East‑West pipeline Petroline has been forced to suspend service after militant attacks damaged three pumping stations in the Riyadh and Madinah regions. The line can move about seven million barrels a day, but the damage could take five to six weeks to repair.
Three students were killed in a school shooting in the southern Philippines on Friday, including a 16-year-old suspected gunman who turned the gun on himself, provincial officials said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment