Will Türkiye now go to war to help Saudi Arabia against Houthi rebels?

Author, BBC Türkiye

Published 11 minutes ago

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Amidst the increasing attacks by Houthis on Saudi Arabia, Turkey is considering what it can do to help Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.

Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement issued on Thursday that the options for possible military assistance provided under the agreements with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will be decided according to the needs on the ground.

However, before this, the approval of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye will have to be obtained and the constitutional process will have to be completed. In this regard, Türkiye's first priority is to get the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement approved by the Parliament.

After this, the proposal related to permission to send army abroad will again be placed before the Parliament for approval. On the other hand, Turkey plans to decide the scope of assistance according to the needs and demands of Saudi Arabia. At present, the most important option is to activate air defense and other military logistics capabilities to increase Saudi Arabia's defense capability.

military aid to saudi arabia

Clashes between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have especially increased in the last two weeks.

In these clashes, Saudi Arabia's energy-related infrastructure and airports along with some holy places have also been targeted.

Many countries including Türkiye and Pakistan have reacted to the attacks by pro-Iranian Houthis.

US President Donald Trump answered the questions of journalists at the White House on October 7.

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He was asked about the decision by Türkiye and Pakistan to "provide military assistance to Saudi Arabia".

On this Trump said, "I think they want to help Saudi Arabia and that is a good thing."

Turkey has especially included the issue of providing military assistance to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca alliance in its agenda.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have made it clear in their statements that there is a strong political will in Ankara to provide such assistance.

Erdogan spoke on phone to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on October 13.

During this, he had said that Türkiye will stand with Saudi Arabia.

The Turkish Foreign and Defense Ministries are jointly taking forward the process related to providing possible assistance to Saudi Arabia.

The legal process will be completed first

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In a statement issued on Thursday, Turkey's Ministry of National Defense indicated which path would be adopted at the legal and military level to help Saudi Arabia.

The ministry's statement shows that the process of providing possible military assistance and capabilities to Saudi Arabia from Turkey will proceed in accordance with constitutional provisions.

For this, it is necessary to first get the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement approved by the Turkish Parliament.

After this, the proposal related to deploying Turkish armed forces abroad will also have to be approved.

Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution states that the Parliament of the country has the right to send the Turkish army abroad or to deploy foreign armies in Turkey.

President Erdoğan had also said on October 12 that this agreement would be presented to the Parliament in the coming days.

A simple majority is enough to get the agreement and proposal approved by the Parliament.

Regarding how the form of military assistance will be decided after the completion of the legal process, the Ministry of National Defense said, "While determining the scope of possible cooperation, the needs and demands of Saudi Arabia, the ground situation and the needs of military operations will be taken into account."

"The rules in this regard will be decided as per the assessment of our respective institutions and the consensus reached between the two parties."

No direct conflict expected with Houthis

According to the assessment being done in Türkiye, while providing help, its main focus will be on increasing the defense agreement with Saudi Arabia.

In this, priority will be given especially to help related to air security, logistics and intelligence information.

The statement given by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on October 8 makes his country's stand on this issue clear to a great extent.

Fidan had said, "The Mecca agreement is a defense agreement. It is not an attack agreement."

"When a member of the pact is under attack, you stand with him to protect him."

He also said, "Türkiye will not send troops to the soil of any other country and attack there."

For Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, common defense and the ability to deter the enemy from attack are important priorities in the Mecca alliance.

However, the agreement between the three countries also includes a principle similar to Article 5 of NATO.

According to this, an attack on any one member of the alliance will be considered an attack on all the allied countries.

The most important decision-making system in the Mecca alliance is the 'Strategic Political and Defense Committee' i.e. SSSK.

In the meeting held on October 5, this committee had decided to provide immediate military assistance to Saudi Arabia.

However, the Mecca Coalition is still very new and the process of preparing it as an institution has not been completed.

For this reason, the steps related to providing military aid are said to take time.

By the next meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee, discussions regarding military assistance between all parties are expected to become more clear.

Türkiye's cooperation may change due to ground conditions

There have been periodic clashes since 2014 between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels, who control large parts of Yemen.

During America and Israel's war with Iran, the Houthi rebels especially tried to limit the movement of tankers through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

With this, the international aspect of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Houthis has become more clearly visible.

Reports have been published in the American media that Washington, in collaboration with Riyadh, is considering launching military action against the Houthis.

At the same time, Israel is also considering options like providing intelligence and military help in this action.

Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement that the "situation on the ground" would also be taken into account when determining the scope of cooperation.

Türkiye can consider all these options while taking a final decision on its military involvement.

Talks also continue with Iran

In this entire process, Türkiye is taking care of another important balance.

He wants to avoid possible tension in his relations with Iran.

President Erdoğan said on October 12, "Türkiye's position, its sensitivity and the principles we support are all clear."

In this conversation, both the leaders discussed the necessary steps to be taken to reduce the increasing tension in the region.

It is expected that talks between the officials of both the countries regarding regional developments will continue in the coming times.