Turkey plans to seek parliamentary approval to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia under a defense pact with the kingdom and Pakistan, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) told Reuters on Wednesday.
The deployment request would be submitted after parliament approves the pact itself, the lawmaker said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Technical personnel and specialists would be sent first to support Saudi air defenses, electronic warfare systems and other defensive capabilities.
Turkish forces deployed under the agreement would not take part in offensive operations, the lawmaker added.
The government submitted the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement to parliament for ratification on Tuesday. Signed by the three countries on August 7, the pact treats an armed attack from outside their borders against any member as an attack against all three and requires assistance to the country attacked.
Saudi Arabia has faced missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, an armed movement backed by Iran that seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government against the Houthis, beginning a military campaign in a war that has killed civilians and produced a humanitarian crisis.
Opposition politicians in Turkey have warned that the agreement could pull the country into Yemen’s war and criticized the government for committing military support before securing parliamentary approval.
Members would be barred from withdrawing from the agreement during the first 10 years after it takes effect, under the previously undisclosed text obtained and published Tuesday by Middle East Eye.
The agreement allows members to determine the type and scale of assistance they provide, with military support among the options.
Turkey has also agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition to protect navigation in the Red Sea, Reuters reported.
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