ANKARA: Turkey has ruled out deploying its troops on foreign soil to conduct military operations against Yemen’s Houthi movement, despite its defence agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey was defensive in nature and was not intended to support offensive military operations.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart in Ankara, Fidan said that if any member of the agreement came under attack, the other members would support its defence. However, he stressed that Turkey would not send its forces to attack another country’s territory.
Fidan said Turkish and Saudi military officials were assessing Saudi Arabia’s defence requirements, with particular attention to potential cooperation in air defence, electronic warfare capabilities and technical assistance.
According to Reuters, Turkey is already providing Saudi Arabia with defence-related and technical support, including military equipment, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, drone operations and defence planning assistance.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August. Under the agreement, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members. However, the agreement is still awaiting ratification by the Turkish parliament.
Turkey’s clarification comes amid increased Houthi attacks on Saudi cities and installations, as Riyadh seeks to strengthen defence cooperation with its allies.