Other countries could join Mecca pact, Erdogan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan would take joint action if any one of the three countries came under attack, AzerNEWS reports.

Erdogan said the agreement establishes a mutual defense mechanism comparable in certain respects to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

“As is known, the provisions of NATO’s Article 5 are, to a certain extent, similar to the concept of mutual defense established here. Therefore, if any problem arises or an attack takes place, these three countries will be able to take the necessary steps together,” Erdogan said.

Under the mutual defense pact, an attack against any one of the three countries would trigger a joint response, regardless of which country is targeted. The agreement provides for the three states to support and defend one another against attacks.

Erdogan also stressed that the agreement is not limited to Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan and could eventually be expanded to include additional countries.

“Other countries can also join us. Egypt can join the agreement together with these three countries if it wishes. The door is also open to Egypt,” the Turkish president said.