Turkiye’s parliament ratified the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Thursday, voting 279 to 119 with 398 of the chamber’s 592 lawmakers taking part, after adopting the approving bill’s first article on Wednesday. The pact, signed by Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in Mecca on August 7, 2026 and sent to parliament last month, has 16 articles and runs for 10 years, with other countries able to join if existing members approve, an option Syria’s government has already expressed interest in.
Its second article commits the parties to provide immediate assistance, using the full range of mutual assistance measures available to them, if one of them suffers an armed attack, language the report compares with NATO’s Article 5. Turkish officials dismissed critics’ questions about a conflict between Turkiye’s NATO membership and the new pact, and Defence Minister Yasar Guler has said Turkish support for Saudi Arabia would aim to strengthen deterrence rather than enter a conflict with the Houthis, who have escalated attacks on the kingdom in recent months.