Turkiye’s parliament has ratified a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that includes a collective defence clause, committing NATO’s second-largest military to the group’s aid in case of attack.
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that → ratify → attack
The ratification on Thursday comes as Riyadh continues to face attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
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Riyadh → come → Houthis
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Turkiye first signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August and sent it to parliament for ratification last month.
Article 1 of a bill approving the pact was adopted by the Turkish parliament on Wednesday.
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Article → use → Wednesday
But afterwards, Deputy Parliament Speaker Celal Adan adjourned the session until Thursday afternoon, the Anadolu news agency reported.
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agency → adjourn → afternoon
After parliament returned to session, lawmakers continued to debate the other articles in the pact.
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lawmakers → return → pact
The agreement ultimately passed with 279 votes in favour and 119 against, with 398 of the chamber’s 592 lawmakers taking part in the vote.
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398 → pass → vote
The pact contains 16 articles, according to a document submitted to the Turkish parliament, seen by the Reuters news agency.
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pact → contain → agency
In Article 1 of the accord, the signatories shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity.
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signatories → use → integrity
Article 1 can be invoked in case of an attack on any member state.
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Article → invoke → state
Once the first article is invoked, the document lays out provisions for what follows.
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what → invoke → provisions
“In the event one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the parties shall immediately provide assistance to the party under attack, utilising the full range of mutual assistance measures available to them,” says Article 2 of the pact.
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Article → subject → pact
This key clause mirrors Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the document that established the NATO military alliance.
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that → mirror → alliance
NATO’s Article 5 establishes that an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
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attack → establish → all
Given that Turkiye is a member of both NATO and the Mecca pact, critics have raised questions about whether the country’s government might face a conflict of interest in allocating its military resources.
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government → give → resources
Turkish officials, however, have dismissed such concerns as unfounded.
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officials → dismiss → concerns
Other articles in the Mecca pact concern a mutual agreement to increase defence industry cooperation and military coordination, with the aim of deterring threats.
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articles → concern → threats
Those articles, in part, commit member states to conducting joint training, pursuing technological innovation and sharing logistics and intelligence resources.
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articles → commit → logistics
The draft approved by Turkish lawmakers commits member countries to the pact for 10 years, after which point they may withdraw.
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they → approve → years
It also leaves open the possibility of other countries joining, with the approval of the pact’s existing members.
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countries → leave → members
Syria’s government has already expressed interest.
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government → express → interest
Despite Thursday’s parliamentary ratification, it is not a foregone conclusion that Turkish troops would be deployed to Saudi Arabia amid the Houthi attacks.
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troops → deploy → attacks
Experts say any Turkish troop deployment would also require other legislative processes.
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deployment → say → processes
Turkiye’s Defence Minister Yasar Guler said in October that the scope of potential support for Saudi Arabia would be determined after ratification.
“We absolutely do not foresee entering into any conflict with the Houthis,” Turkish media reported Guler as saying.
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media → say → Guler
Instead, Turkish support “would be to strengthen deterrence”.
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support → strengthen → deterrence
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen had abated somewhat following a 2022 ceasefire.
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Tensions → abate → ceasefire
But the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months, notably launching a series of deadly strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
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Houthis → escalate → Riyadh
The region also remains embroiled in the US-Israel war on Iran, which has contributed to cross-border tensions.
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which → embroil → tensions
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced it had intercepted a drone in the region of Medina.
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it → announce → Medina
Riyadh has accused the Houthis several times of targeting Mecca and Medina, two holy cities in Islam, an accusation the Iran-backed group systematically rejects.
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group → accuse → Islam
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