Turkey Plans Mandate to Send Military Personnel to Saudi Arabia Under Mecca Pact

Turkey Plans Mandate to Send Military Personnel to Saudi Arabia Under Mecca Pact

Turkey is moving closer to sending military personnel to Saudi Arabia under its joint defence pact with Riyadh and Islamabad. An AK Party lawmaker told Reuters on Wednesday that Ankara will submit a mandate to parliament authorising the deployment once a bill ratifying the accord is approved.

Turkey submitted the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement — signed by the three countries in August — to parliament for ratification on Tuesday, edging NATO's second-largest army nearer to a formal mutual-defence pledge with Saudi Arabia as the kingdom faces Houthi attacks.

The lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no Turkish troops deployed under the pact would take part in offensive operations. Technical personnel and experts would go first, to help with air defences, electronic warfare technologies and other defensive support. Earlier, two officials had told Reuters that Turkey's contribution so far was limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, with no deployment yet under the alliance.

Turkey, which has condemned the Houthi attacks, has also agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition to ensure navigational safety in the Red Sea. Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu.

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