Turkey Ratifies Mecca Pact, Clearing Path for Troop Deployment to Saudi Arabia
The three-nation defense alliance now treats an attack on any member as an attack on all, a move timed with Syrian interest in joining the group.
By Kaito Sokolov ·
The Turkish parliament ratified the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Thursday, granting the government the legal authority to send military support to Riyadh. This action directly responds to ongoing attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The vote completes the domestic process required for Ankara to act under the treaty.
The pact was originally signed in August by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. It was forwarded to the Turkish legislature for approval last month. The core provision of the document establishes that an armed attack on one signatory constitutes an attack on all three nations. A ruling party lawmaker previously told Reuters that a separate mandate for deploying specific military personnel to Saudi Arabia would also be submitted to parliament.
Regional alignment has accelerated in the days surrounding this vote. On Wednesday, the Saudi and Syrian defense ministries signed a new military cooperation agreement. This signing occurred shortly after Yoni Ben-Menachem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, told The Jerusalem Post that Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is seeking to join the Mecca Pact. Al-Sharaa had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh earlier in the month.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani confirmed on Saturday that discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria's entry into the alliance. Speaking via Syrian state media, he stated that the group aims to include Sunni countries not part of the Muslim Brotherhood. He theorized that Qatar would soon announce its intention to join. Al-Shaibani claimed the pact is designed to fill the vacuum left by the anticipated collapse of the Iranian regime and the wider Shi'ite axis.
The specific details of the new Saudi-Syrian military agreement remain unpublicized. However, Reuters reported that Syria is considering assisting Saudi Arabia in its conflict against the Houthis. The convergence of these diplomatic and military steps indicates a tightening defense perimeter among these regional powers.
