Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Decided to Deploy Military Forces within the Scope of the Mecca Agreement for Common Defense

MİLLİYET.COM.TR / Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu attended the Strategic Political and Defense Committee Meeting held within the scope of the Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

In the statement made after the meeting, which was also attended by senior officials from other members of the alliance, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it was said: "It was decided to take measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia within the framework of the agreed arrangements and their rapid deployment, thereby strengthening the preparedness, military integration and collective capacity to combat threats."

This critical decision set off alarm bells again in Israel and Greece, which have not hidden their concerns since the announcement of the alliance.

'PREPARATION FOR MILITARY OPERATION?'

From the Israeli press JDN “Mecca Alliance: Preparing for military action?” In the news titled "Following the attacks of the Houthis, at the emergency meeting held in Saudi Arabia, it was stated that soldiers from Turkey and Pakistan would be immediately deployed to Riyadh within the scope of the collective defense mechanism. This decision shows that the security cooperation between Ankara, Riyadh and Islamabad has deepened significantly."

'THE BUTTON WAS PRESSED'

Tel Aviv-based Channel 14, in its news titled "Reinforcements from Turkey and Pakistan in Saudi Arabia", said: "The Mecca Alliance pressed the button for Riyadh, which is under attack by the Houthis. Turkey and Pakistan announced that they will work to quickly deploy force and military capacity to the country. The aim is obvious: to protect Saudi Arabia as a matter of collective defense and to secure the strategic maritime route on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait."

'THREE FORCES IN ACTION'

Maariv, in the news titled "The Houthis have gone too far: Three powers are in play", stated that "Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to concretize measures within the scope of 'joint deterrence' at the emergency meeting they held after the Houthis increased the intensity of their attacks. It was stated that the three countries decided to immediately implement the practical implementation of their joint defense commitments. While the decision to deploy troops to Riyadh was announced, details regarding the scope of the forces were not included."

'FINAL RESULT'

In its news titled "Definitive Result", Banking News from the Greek press stated, "Turkey and Pakistan are planning to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia. This decision is an indication that concrete steps have been taken on paper within the scope of the 'joint deterrence' principle, which is similar to NATO's Article 5. For Athens, it means a 'definitive result' that requires caution against possible situations."

'ALL FOR ONE'

Athens-based Parapolitika, in its news titled "The Mecca Agreement has been put into effect: All for one", said, "Turkey and Pakistan are preparing to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia, following the agreement to immediately implement the common defense commitments they reached with Saudi Arabia. It turns the three states into a single state; that is, an attack on any of them is considered an attack on all of them."

MECCA JOINT DEFENSE AGREEMENT

The agreement is a defense-oriented cooperation that does not target any country and aims to strengthen commitments to maintain regional and global peace, stability and prosperity on the basis of burden sharing and common security understanding.