Turkey is putting its defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan into effect before securing necessary approval from parliament.
The Mecca Agreement, signed about a month ago, was put into effect with the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee in Istanbul on July 31, drawing complaints from opposition parties because the constitution requires parliamentary approval for international agreements to take effect.
Yeni Party MP and retired Ambassador Namık Tan said that the text of the agreement has not even been disclosed to the public, adding: “If an agreement exists, why is parliament being bypassed? If no agreement exists, what is the government pretending to put into effect?'
Another retired ambassador, İYİ Party MP Ahmet Kamil Erozan, also objected to the start of the meetings even though the text of the agreement isn’t available: “The government, which hitched the donkey and the cart the wrong way around, now also sits backwards on the donkey.”
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that as of Aug. 31, the establishment of the institutional structure envisaged by the agreement had begun and the initial institutional decisions taken: “First and foremost, we agreed that the official name of our alliance will be the Mecca Defense Alliance.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 2 that the meeting was held to take concrete steps as soon as possible. “This alliance was established to ensure stability and security in our region, but there are also countries that are reacting to it behind the scenes.”
In Turkey, an international agreement enters into force after passing through five stages: negotiation and signature, parliamentary approval, presidential ratification, publication in the Official Gazette, and the exchange or deposit of the instruments of ratification.
TRIPARTITE PACT LAUNCHED
At the first meeting, the three countries were represented in Istanbul by their foreign and defense ministers, alongside their chiefs of general staff. In addition to international security issues, the meeting addressed developing the defense capabilities of the three nations, promoting interoperability among their armed forces, deepening defense industry cooperation — including joint production and research and development — and strengthening joint counter-terrorism efforts.
“The three countries will continue to support efforts towards de-escalation and restraint to encourage peaceful resolution of crises,” the joint statement following the meeting noted.
The parties agreed that the alliance secretariat will be established in Riyadh, with a Pakistani official serving as the first secretary-general for a three-year term.
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed on Aug. 7 by Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Similar to NATO’s Article 5, the agreement stipulates that an attack against any member state will be considered an attack against all parties, although the mechanisms needed to provide that level of readiness are not yet in place.
Fidan said that this new alliance does not negate Turkey's obligations arising from NATO and other alliances or agreements, but rather serves a complementary role.
Greater stability will emerge in the region through the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, he said. “The process of testing a new security and cooperation architecture in our region has begun,” Fidan said.
The three countries started inviting others to join, not only Arab states such as Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar, but also some African states, Turkey in Depth learned.
OPPOSITION SAYS UNLAWFUL
The Yeni Party, on the other hand, interpreted the meeting in Istanbul as yet another example of the government’s unlawful actions.
Noting that the agreement — which legally cannot enter into force without parliamentary approval — has not even been referred to Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission yet, Tan asked, “Why are the obligations that this alleged agreement imposes on Turkey being kept secret?”
Security and international obligations cannot be determined outside the knowledge and oversight of parliament, Tan said, and called on the government to immediately brief the public on the contents of the agreement.
The İYİ Party’s Erozan said that Erdoğan might soon say, just as he did regarding the European Union (EU), “Actually, we no longer need NATO membership either.”
Yeni Party Deputy Chair Utku Çakırözer said that they are not opposed to developing relations with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or other countries, but emphasized that implementing an international agreement that exposes Turkey to risk for the security priorities of other nations — without debate in parliament and thus without the consent of the nation — is unacceptable.
