Defence pact could expand to 'Muslim world': Turkey

ANKARA, Sept 25: A defence pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan could turn into a broader pact "for the Muslim world" that includes Iran, Turkey's parliament speaker said on Friday, adding that it is expected to be submitted for ratification from next month.

The regional powers signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" in August, weeks before Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks against Saudi Arabia, in reaction to the wider Iran war. Similar to NATO's Article 5, the pact stipulates that an attack on one ally constitutes an attack on all. The signatories have been meeting to lay out the parameters of the accord and assess Riyadh's needs.

"For international agreements to come into effect, parliamentary approval is needed. The meetings held as part of the agreement at the moment are preparatory meetings," Parliament Speaker NumanKurtulmus told reporters in Ankara. "I expect this issue to come on the parliament's agenda in the coming period," he added, referring to parliament's return from recess in October.

Asked whether the pact was against Iran, Kurtulmus repeated Turkey's position that the agreement did not target any specific country but was primarily aimed at ensuring the security of states in the region amid conflicts and Israel's "hostile policies", adding that Tehran could potentially join the pact too.

"We never see the Mecca Agreement as a pact against Iran, it must not be that way. In fact, we hope the Mecca Agreement can turn into a broader agreement for the Muslim world. Iran can join this agreement too, we hope it will become much stronger with the participation of other regional countries," he said.

Ankara has previously said it could help meet Riyadh's military needs, especially on technical issues, but officials have said any support at this stage would be largely bilateral and in the spirit of their alliance, since the joint agreement has yet to be ratified.

The military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to meet to discuss ways of supporting Riyadh.�"REUTERS