By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that Türkiye would have no problem meeting Saudi Arabia's military needs "in certain technical areas," linking Houthi attacks on the kingdom to the defense pact Ankara signed with Riyadh and Islamabad in August. The agreement has not yet been submitted to Türkiye's parliament, which the ruling party has said must approve it before it enters into force.
"We see very serious attacks on Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Fidan said in a live interview with broadcaster NTV. He described the pact as an alliance agreement. "We keep our word. We are in solidarity on this," he said, adding that the alliance was following the situation closely.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry condemned the September 8 Houthi strikes on four cities in southern Saudi Arabia and drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory four days later. Neither statement mentioned the pact. Türkiye's September 8 statement condemned the attacks and reaffirmed support for Saudi sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Makkah Agreement for Joint Defence, known as the Mecca Pact, was signed in Mecca on August 7 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Pact Has Yet to Reach Parliament
Türkiye's Directorate of Communications said at the signing that the agreement treats an armed attack on any of the three states as an attack on all. The text has not been made public.
Özlem Zengin, parliamentary group deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) on August 8 that the agreement would be submitted through the Presidency and debated under Article 90 of the Constitution. "Once it is approved by our parliament, it will enter into force," she said.
Başkent University professor Hasan Ünal, director of the New World Research Centre, told Bosphorus News that Türkiye carries no obligation under the pact until parliament approves it.
"First of all, there is no agreement that has been approved by the TBMM. We do not know its text," Ünal said.
He said he read Fidan's remarks as meaning that Türkiye would be expected to come to Saudi Arabia's aid over the Houthi attacks. He asked why Türkiye would be under any obligation when no agreement was in force, and when the Foreign Ministry would publish the text with an official translation.
He also questioned the decision to sign a mutual defense pact with a state involved in a long-running conflict in Yemen. He said such agreements apply in the event of an attack, and that the obligation to assist falls away if the attacking party is a member of the alliance.
Headquarters Next, Fidan Says
Fidan said the alliance was "at a really good stage." The next steps, he said, were assigning personnel and establishing a headquarters. He described the alliance as open to countries in the region and said talks on new members would follow once the institutional steps were complete.
After the alliance's first high-level committee meeting in Istanbul on August 31, Fidan said it had been "established to expand" but that institutionalization had to come first. The three countries agreed then to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia, initially headed for three years by a Pakistani secretary-general.
On September 10, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan called the pact an "umbrella agreement" and said further mechanisms had to be established before its operationalization could be discussed.
No Stated Turkish Role in Red Sea Coalition
Fidan spoke days after a separate Saudi-led Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition, formed to protect shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, reached initial operational capability. Representatives of 41 countries attended its fourth planning meeting in Jeddah on September 17, where participating states discussed their possible contributions.
Türkiye was among 14 countries that backed the coalition's establishment in a July 30 joint statement published by Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry. Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense has said Turkish officials attended technical talks in Riyadh on July 28, a chiefs of general staff meeting on July 30 and a coordination meeting in Jeddah on August 12-13. Ankara has not said what it will contribute.
Asked on Saturday about resolving the Bab el-Mandeb crisis, Fidan said several initiatives were under way but had yet to produce results.
Sources: Reuters, NTV, TBMM General Assembly record of August 8, 2026, Türkiye's Directorate of Communications, Türkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense, Bosphorus News review and reporting.