Turkey’s defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan would require the three countries to help defend one another for at least 10 years after it takes effect, according to the previously undisclosed full text obtained and published Tuesday by Middle East Eye.
The three governments announced the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement when they signed it in Saudi Arabia on August 7, but had not made its full text public.
The 10-year restriction on withdrawal emerged from the text published by Middle East Eye as Turkey’s government submitted the agreement to parliament for approval on Tuesday, amid opposition warnings that it could pull Turkey into the war in Yemen.
The agreement has no expiration date, and members would be allowed to withdraw only after its first 10 years, with at least three months’ written notice to the other partners.
That period would begin when the agreement enters into force after all three countries complete their ratification procedures, rather than from the date of signing.
Activities and projects agreed before a country’s withdrawal would continue, along with obligations to protect classified information.
The pact treats an armed attack originating outside any member country as an attack against all three and requires assistance to the country attacked.
Members would determine the type and scale of that assistance after assessing what was needed, with military support among the options available.
The text also requires cooperation against threats to members’ sovereignty and borders, without identifying a particular country as an adversary.
Beyond responding to attacks, the agreement provides for intelligence sharing, joint weapons production, military training and supplies of arms, ammunition, fuel and equipment in peace and war.
The parliamentary submission follows an October 5 meeting in the Saudi capital of Riyadh at which the three governments agreed to implement their collective defense commitments and arrange the deployment of military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia, subject to each country’s laws.
That announcement did not specify troop numbers, deployment dates or what each country would contribute.
Opposition politicians have warned that the government was making military commitments before obtaining parliamentary approval.
Özgür Özel, Turkey’s main opposition leader, argued earlier this month that entering a defense alliance with a country engaged in war risked making Turkey a participant.
Yemen’s conflict pits the Houthis, an armed movement backed by Iran that seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, against the internationally recognized government supported by Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015, beginning a military campaign in a war that has killed civilians, destroyed infrastructure and produced a humanitarian crisis, while the Houthis have targeted Saudi cities and infrastructure with missiles and drones.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described the agreement as defensive and ruled out sending Turkish troops to conduct attacks on another country’s territory.
Turkey’s contribution was expected to focus on military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, an unidentified Turkish official told Reuters.
The treaty specifies that it does not override obligations arising from earlier agreements, preserving Turkey’s existing commitments as a NATO member.
Experts have questioned what additional protection Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could offer a country already covered by NATO’s collective defense pledge, warning that the pact could expose Turkey to conflicts involving Yemen or India, Pakistan’s neighbor and rival.
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