Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban on Thursday in Ankara, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye was considering defense assistance to Saudi Arabia amid tensions with the Houthis in Yemen. He was answering questions about the Mecca Joint Defense Alliance, which was signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. "This is a defense pact, not a pact of offense; Türkiye won’t send troops to another country for attacking another,” he said.

He also noted that the agreement on the alliance would soon be sent to Parliament for ratification.

Fidan and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler joined Pakistani officials in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh on Oct. 5 for the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the alliance. This second meeting of the alliance after its inauguration in Istanbul was followed by a blunt statement underlining the collective defense and a pledge of military assistance to Saudi Arabia amid attacks by the Houthis.

"The Mecca agreement is a defense agreement; it is not an agreement of offense. If one country that is a party to the agreement is attacked, you are required to stand with it for the defense,” he stressed.

"Türkiye will not send soldiers to another country for an assault. We are forming a defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia. We are discussing what type of defense measures are needed through our military delegations, and how Pakistan can contribute. Saudi Arabia already has a major military infrastructure; they have a high amount of weapons, munitions and defense elements accumulated over the years,” Fidan said.

The Turkish opposition also claimed that Türkiye would not be able to send troops to Saudi Arabia as the agreement on the alliance was not ratified by Parliament yet. Fidan responded to this and said that they had completed the work to send it to Parliament. "We presented it to the president on Wednesday and decided to send it to Parliament as soon as possible,” he stated.

Sabah newspaper reported on Wednesday that Türkiye would provide low- and medium-altitude aerial defense systems to Saudi Arabia along with assistance in drone technologies and electronic warfare. The newspaper also reported that Saudi Arabia was working on setting up a base for Türkiye. A Foreign Ministry official told Daily Sabah that the Saudi side conveyed "some expectations” to Türkiye and they would examine those.

The move is the most concrete step since the agreement was signed in August by top officials of Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to showcase the impact of the alliance in the broader region.

As civil war in Yemen flared up this summer, the Houthis spread it to Saudi Arabia, prompting the central government in Yemen to launch an all-out operation against the group this week. Saudi Arabia’s oil and military installations are among the main targets of the Houthis.

Black Sea security

Fidan also touched upon the issue of Black Sea security after reports of multiple attacks on commercial vessels that escalated during the Russia-Ukraine war. Turkish-owned vessels in particular suffered from the drone attacks. Syria reported that nine citizens working as sailors on a commercial ship owned by a Turkish company went missing after a drone strike off the coast of Bulgaria early Tuesday. Eighteen Turkish and Indian crew members were rescued from the ship that caught fire.

Fidan said Türkiye had worked since the beginning of the conflict to prevent its spillover into the Black Sea, citing Türkiye’s tight enforcement of the Montreux Convention for passage through Turkish straits and a landmark grain deal. He added that the spillover was happening now.

"Increasing attacks on civilian vessels pose a grave threat to the safety of people, commodities and routes in our region. Regional countries and the international community should not allow a new front in the Black Sea, but unfortunately, with the conflict spreading across multiple fronts, it is emerging in the Black Sea as well,” he said.