Turkish Parliament weighs Mecca Defense Alliance ratification

The text of the agreement on the Mecca Defense Alliance was presented to the Parliament on Tuesday for ratification. If the text, sent by the Foreign Ministry, is approved, it will strengthen the legal basis for the alliance formed by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Authorities have earlier announced that the issue would be brought before Parliament as the opposition parties urged the government to seek their approval first to implement the requirements of the alliance.

The agreement the alliance is based upon says an attack on one party to the agreement will be deemed as an attack on all. This clause has been repeatedly highlighted as the Houthis in Yemen stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia within weeks of the signing of the defense agreement in Saudi Arabia.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who is in Kyrgyzstan ⁠at the moment, will submit the agreement to Parliament’s Foreign Aaffairs ⁠Commission ‌after ‌returning to ⁠Türkiye, two Turkish sources told Reuters.

A significant part of the debate surrounding the agreement concerns the scope of the military support Türkiye could provide to Saudi Arabia. At the alliance meeting held in Riyadh on Oct. 5, it was agreed that preparations would be made to deploy the military forces and capabilities agreed upon to Saudi Arabia.

Sources from the Turkish National Defense Ministry said the process would be carried out in accordance with the Constitution and relevant legislation. They also noted that the agreement must be approved by Parliament and that the necessary authorizations for deploying the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) abroad must be completed. With the submission of the bill to Parliament, the process has now been placed on the legislative agenda. The bill’s progress will involve referral to the relevant parliamentary commission and the General Assembly, the decision on approving the agreement, and any related military authorization procedures.

Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan affirmed defense assistance to Saudi Arabia but ruled out active participation of troops in the raging conflict between the Houthis and Saudis. “This is a defense pact, not a pact of offense; Türkiye won’t send troops to another country for attacking another,” he said at a news conference in Ankara.

He also noted that the agreement on the alliance would soon be sent to Parliament for ratification. “We are forming a defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia. We are discussing what type of defense measures are needed through our military delegations, and how Pakistan can contribute. Saudi Arabia already has a major military infrastructure; they have a high amount of weapons, munitions and defense elements accumulated over the years,” Fidan said.

The Sabah newspaper has earlier reported that Türkiye would provide low- and medium-altitude aerial defense systems to Saudi Arabia along with assistance in drone technologies and electronic warfare. The newspaper also reported that Saudi Arabia was working on setting up a base for Türkiye. A Foreign Ministry official told Daily Sabah that the Saudi side conveyed “some expectations” to Türkiye and they would examine those. The move is the most concrete step since the agreement was signed in August by top officials of Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to showcase the impact of the alliance in the broader region.

Commenting on the new parliamentary process, Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate, said the move was an important stage in the institutionalization of strategic cooperation between three brotherly countries. In a social media post on Tuesday, Duran said the strategic partnership aimed to strengthen collective deterrence, enhancing joint capabilities in defense, and safeguarding security and stability in the region. “(The agreement), which is based on regional countries’ responsibility to tackle regional issues, is a display of the joint will prioritizing security and solidarity,” he said.

DAILYSABAH