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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told broadcaster NTV that Ankara had taken note of serious attacks on Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Fidan added that the trilateral pact provided for serious solidarity on the issue and that Turkey would have no objections to meeting any military needs especially on technical matters. The minister’s comments came as Reuters reported Saturday that the Houthis had been striking Saudi targets since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed in August treats an armed attack on one of the three signatories as an attack on all according to Reuters. Turkey which maintains NATO’s second-largest army has described the pact as open to expansion while stressing that it does not seek to replace existing alliances. A Reuters assessment found the deal complements the defence capabilities of nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia the world’s top oil exporter.
Fidan told the broadcaster that Turkey had conveyed new proposals to all parties in the hope they would be accepted to end the fighting. He noted that the crisis had been tolerated up to a point but that its economic repercussions had become intolerable Reuters reported. The minister described the situation as unacceptable for Saudi Arabia to be drawn into the broader US-Iran conflict given Riyadh’s lack of desire to join it.
Reuters reported that Pakistan has stated no discussions on a military response have taken place under the pact. The agreement dubbed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was inked last month by the foreign ministers and leaders of the three nations in the Saudi city. An earlier Reuters dispatch from the signing ceremony said the pact aimed to strengthen collective deterrence without targeting any specific country.
The Houthi campaign forms a new front in a wider war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February according to the Reuters account. Fidan emphasised that the Turkish foreign ministry had condemned attacks on oil infrastructure near Mecca and that the alliance was monitoring developments closely. He indicated any Saudi military needs would likely focus on specific technical areas that Ankara could address.
In an August interview with state-run Anadolu Agency that Reuters referenced Fidan had insisted the pact did not define any common threat or target. The minister had compared the mutual defence clause to NATO’s Article 5 under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. Turkey has separately participated in a Saudi-led maritime defence alliance while preparing potential defensive equipment transfers to Riyadh without direct intervention in Yemen according to Reuters reporting.
