Turkey and Pakistan will assist Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Agreement signed by the three countries this summer, following the Houthi attacks.
The decision to activate collective deterrence measures was made following an emergency meeting of the Strategic Policy and Defense Committee yesterday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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In his remarks, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense, Prince Khalid bin Salman, noted that the measures would be a response to the attacks against his country and those responsible for them.
For its part, Pakistan, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that the three countries have committed to fulfilling their collective defense obligations.
It is not known how many soldiers the two countries will send to Saudi Arabia, which units will be deployed, or what the deployment timeline will be. The rules of engagement are also unknown.
Finally, the committee condemned the attempted attacks in Mecca and Medina, as well as the ongoing attacks on Saudi cities and on political and economic facilities.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, following the committee meeting, stated that work on the institutional framework of the Mecca Defense Alliance is in its final stages.
As he noted, the meeting had already been scheduled but was convened on an emergency basis due to developments in Yemen and the attacks launched by Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia. The agenda included the structure of the coalition and the appointment of a secretary-general.
The participants discussed ways to peacefully resolve the crisis, he added, noting that decisions were made that reflect the political will of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Saudi Arabia truly has a very constructive approach to resolving this issue. We had the opportunity to hear it again. We shared some of our views.”
Fidan highlighted the contributions of Defense Minister Yasar Güler and the Chief of the General Staff, General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, to the military, operational, and technical discussions.
Source: Proto Thema
