Mecca Joint Defence Agreement sent to the Turkish parliament for ratification – opposition demands its rejection

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, the pact signed on August 7 by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, was submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for ratification on Tuesday, October 20. According to Deutsche Welle, the bill was submitted with the signature of Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş. Three parliamentary sources confirmed to Reuters that the government sent the agreement to parliament, and two of them said Kurtulmuş, who is in Kyrgyzstan, will refer it to the Foreign Affairs Committee when he returns.

The pro-government Daily Sabah writes that the text was sent by the foreign ministry and that, if approved, it will strengthen the legal basis of the alliance. The agreement provides that an attack on one party is considered an attack on all, a clause that has come to the fore as Yemen’s Houthis escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia a few weeks after the signing. According to DW, the bill has not yet been referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has no regular session this week.

The opposition

The opposition demands the agreement be rejected and a detailed briefing on its content. It argues that applying it in the field before parliamentary approval is unconstitutional and that the government wants to entangle Turkey in the war in Yemen. Last week the plenary rejected, with the votes of the AKP and the MHP, a CHP motion for a general debate on the security risks of the agreement.

“Why is Turkey entering a new military obligation with uncertain limits, threat and final cost?” İYİ Party leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu had asked, adding that the Turkish soldier “is not the guardian of Aramco”. AKP officials said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan may, if necessary, brief the plenary on the agreement. Fidan had already said that Turkey will not send troops to carry out attacks under the pact.

Egypt and Washington

The question of deploying forces also concerns other countries of the region. Egypt, which stayed outside the agreement, said through President Sisi that it is ready to defend Saudi Arabia if asked. On the same day US Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack wondered in Doha whether the agreement means Turkey will send ground troops with Saudi Arabia against the Houthis.