A defense pact has been signed in Mecca between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the countries say in a joint statement.
The agreement was signed Friday in the Saudi holy city during a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The pact, dubbed the ‘Mecca Joint Defense Agreement’, ties together the three countries amid the backdrop of the Middle East war and a revived conflict in Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbor, Yemen.
“The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry says.
The agreement is purely defensive in nature and pledges mutual support only for defense, a Turkish official says.
The official says the agreement — widely seen as an alliance designed to counter Iran — is not against any specific actor and is open to other regional countries as well.
The pact does not abrogate or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral agreements between these states or with other states and organizations, the person adds.
The Times of Israel