Turkey Plans Parliamentary Mandate to Deploy Military Personnel to Saudi Arabia Under Mecca Pact

Turkey will submit to parliament a mandate allowing Turkish military personnel to be deployed to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Riyadh and Pakistan, a lawmaker from the ruling AK Party told Reuters on Wednesday.

The lawmaker said the mandate would be sent to parliament once a bill ratifying the pact is approved. Turkey submitted the agreement, which the three countries signed in August, to parliament for ratification on Tuesday, and a parliamentary commission could begin debate as early as Friday, Reuters reported.

The Mecca agreement treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. At an emergency meeting of the alliance in Riyadh earlier this month, the three countries agreed to ensure the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

Turkey says the pact is defensive

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the agreement is not an offensive one, adding that Turkey would not send troops to another country to carry out attacks on its territory, according to Reuters.

A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkey’s expected contribution would be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, and that no deployment had taken place under the alliance so far.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continue

Riyadh has faced repeated Houthi attacks, a pattern that led the U.S. State Department to order non-essential staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia.

On Oct. 20, a Houthi missile strike on a Yemeni government security forces training camp in Shabwa province killed 73 people, according to the local media office, with 14 people missing and more than 200 injured, Reuters reported.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.