A member of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party told Reuters on Wednesday (the 21st) that a resolution would be submitted to the parliament, allowing Turkey to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia in accordance with the previously signed joint defense agreement.
On Tuesday (the 20th), Turkey submitted the "Mecca Joint Defense Agreement" signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in August this year to the parliament for approval. A member of parliament who requested anonymity said that once the agreement is approved by the parliament, the government will submit the bill authorizing troop deployments to the parliament for consideration.
This move has taken Turkey, which has the second-largest military force in NATO, one step closer to establishing a formal defense partnership with Saudi Arabia. Currently, Saudi Arabia is facing attacks from the Houthi movement.
This member of parliament stated that, according to the agreement deployment to other countries, Turkish military personnel will not participate in offensive military actions. He added that initially, Turkey planned to dispatch technical staff and experts to assist with air defense, electronic warfare, and other defensive support work.
Previously, two officials revealed to Reuters that Turkey’s support under this agreement would be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing, and weapon systems. They also stated that no other forms of military deployment have taken place under the framework of the tripartite alliance to date.
Turkey has previously condemned the attacks launched by the Houthi movement and agreed to join the alliance led by Saudi Arabia in order to ensure the safety of navigation in the Red Sea.
