Turkey says defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is not aimed at Iran or any other country
- Turkey's Foreign Minister stated that the defense agreement is not aimed against Iran or any other country.
- The agreement, signed in Mecca, includes a mutual defense clause among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey.
- The pact is described as a step toward regional stability amid increased uncertainty and threats.
- Turkey's Foreign Minister emphasized that no specific state is viewed as an adversary unless it takes hostile action.
- Other nations have expressed interest in joining the agreement, with Egypt expected to participate in the future.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey is not aimed against Iran or any other country, Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday, describing the pact as an important step toward regional stability.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the agreement in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on Friday. It states that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all three.
The “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” brings together oil-rich Saudi Arabia and nuclear power Pakistan as well as Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and a rapidly growing defense industry. It deepens cooperation and deterrence at a time of increased regional uncertainty and threats from the war in Iran.
In an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan insisted that the three countries do not view any particular state as an adversary unless they take hostile action against them. “We don’t have anything written down — nothing we’ve signed — that defines a common threat,” Fidan said.
The Turkish minister described the agreement’s clause on mutual defense as being “technically the same” as NATO’s Article 5, under which an attack on one of the 32 members is considered an attack on them all.
土耳其称与沙特阿拉伯和巴基斯坦的防务协议并非针对伊朗或其他国家
土耳其安卡拉（美联社）——土耳其外长周六表示，沙特阿拉伯、巴基斯坦和土耳其之间的防务协议并非针对伊朗或其他国家，并称该协议是朝着区域稳定迈出的重要一步。
沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼、土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安和巴基斯坦总理谢赫巴兹·谢里夫于周五在沙特圣城麦加签署了该协议。协议规定对任何一国的攻击都将被视为对所有三国的攻击。
“麦加联合防务协议”将富有石油资源的沙特阿拉伯、拥有核武器的巴基斯坦与拥有北约第二大军队和快速发展的国防工业的土耳其结合在一起。在区域不确定性和来自伊朗战争的威胁加剧的背景下，该协议加深了三国之间的合作与威慑。
在接受土耳其国营阿纳多卢通讯社采访时，土耳其外长哈坎·菲丹坚称，三国并不将任何特定国家视为对手，除非该国对他们采取敌对行动。“我们没有任何书面文件——我们签署的任何东西——定义共同威胁，”菲丹说。
土耳其外长将该协议中的互防条款描述为“在技术上与”北约第五条相同，根据该条款，对32个成员国之一的攻击被视为对所有成员的攻击。