Syria considering entry into Mecca defence pact, says foreign minister

Syria’s government is weighing whether to enter into a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, the country’s top diplomat says.

“Discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain on Saturday.

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan in the Saudi city of Mecca in August. It states that an attack on one country is to be considered an attack on all three, and has been compared to the NATO security alliance that binds the United States, Canada and 30 European countries.

Saudi Arabia, under heavy fire from Yemen’s Houthis, is a key backer of Syria’s government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which came to power after the fall of former strongman Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Under the Mecca pact, Pakistan and Turkiye have pledged military support to Riyadh as it faces escalating attacks from the Iran-backed group. However, neither Islamabad nor Ankara has yet announced any attacks on the Houthis.

Government officials in Turkiye, where the pact’s ratification process is ongoing, have said any future military support for Riyadh would not include deploying Turkish troops to fight in Yemen or attack the Houthis.

Speaking at the conference in Bahrain, al-Shaibani said Damascus was an “integral” part of regional security and would support any framework aimed at protecting regional stability.

The minister stressed that the region was “in greater need than ever” of developing joint deterrence and defence systems.

He said Syria backs the efforts of Yemen’s Saudi-backed internationally recognised government to restore “sovereignty and stability across its entire territory” as it battles the Houthis, Syrian state media reported.

He also urged all parties to support the unity and sovereignty of states.

Separately, the minister said Israel has carried out more than 1,000 attacks on Syria in less than two years, killing dozens of people.

“How can calls for border control and placing weapons exclusively under state control be justified while Syrian sovereignty is violated and targeted on a daily basis?” he asked.