Turkey’s parliament on Thursday ratified the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, a defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, clearing the way for Ankara to send military support to Riyadh amid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants against the kingdom.
Under the agreement, signed by the three regional powers in August and sent to parliament’s approval last month, an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all. A ruling party lawmaker told Reuters last month that Turkey would also submit to parliament a mandate allowing for military personnel to be deployed to Saudi Arabia under the pact.