Turkey moves closer to Saudi troop deployment as parliament approves Mecca defence pact - Middle East Eye

The Turkish parliament passed a law approving the Mecca defence pact early on Friday, completing a crucial stage in the legal process.

The bill was endorsed by 279 MPs, with 119 voting against it. It was primarily supported by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its coalition partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). However, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), a nominal opposition party, also backed the move.

Following the ousting of its leader through a court order, the CHP has split into two camps, and its new leadership is increasingly aligned with the Turkish government’s views.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to publish the law in the Official Gazette later this week, bringing it into force.

Under the agreement, signed by regional powers Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in August and submitted to parliament for approval last month, an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all.

The text of the agreement does not identify any specific country or region as a threat but emphasises that all participating countries will take the necessary measures to support one another in the event of an armed attack against their independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity.

The agreement, which consists of 16 articles, has no expiration date.

It allows signatories to withdraw only after 10 years have elapsed from its entry into force, provided they give the other parties written notice of their intention to withdraw at least three months in advance.

Several sources familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye that all three allies had committed to formally ratifying the treaty before their trilateral consultation meetings later this month. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia announced last month that they had done so.

Turkish officials say the next order of business is to secure parliamentary authorisation to deploy Turkish forces to Saudi Arabia in solidarity with Riyadh against Houthi attacks from Yemen.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last week that any deployment to Saudi Arabia would be defensive in nature and that Turkish forces would not operate in Yemen.

A separate source told MEE that Ankara also needs to negotiate a Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) with the other partners and ratify it to clarify which criminal and civil jurisdictions would apply to the forces and personnel.

Known as a Sofa, such an agreement typically also governs entry and exit procedures, customs, taxation, vehicle registration and day-to-day legal protections.

It is unclear whether negotiations on this issue have been completed.