ISTANBUL, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye is facing its first major test following a deadly attack by Yemen's Houthi group on Riyadh's international airport, raising questions about how far Türkiye is willing and able to go in defending its partner.
Analysts say Ankara is more likely to provide Saudi Arabia with defense technology than combat troops, as Türkiye seeks to avoid direct involvement in the conflict.
The Mecca alliance announced on Oct. 5 that it would deploy forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia in response to intensified Houthi strikes on the kingdom. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later emphasized that the pact, signed in Mecca on Aug. 7, is purely defensive in nature and does not authorize offensive military operations.
As the proposed deployment of forces to Saudi Arabia moves closer to parliamentary approval in Türkiye, public debate has emerged over the risks of the country being drawn into the conflict.
Rather than taking on a direct combat role, Türkiye is likely to contribute to the pact through diplomatic initiatives, defense technology and intelligence cooperation, with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air defense systems and cyber capabilities serving as key assets, Canan Tercan, a foreign policy expert at Istanbul Aydin University, told Xinhua.
Mustafa Enes Esen, a former Turkish diplomat, echoed this assessment, saying Türkiye's contribution would remain largely technical.
Türkiye is preparing to provide equipment, intelligence and drone operators, Esen said, adding that Ankara intends to use the pact to advance its defense ties with Saudi Arabia rather than fight Riyadh's war.
This approach builds on recent momentum in bilateral relations, he noted. In 2023, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia signed the largest defense export contract in Turkish history, centered on the sale of Akinci combat drones.
By limiting its role to defending Saudi facilities rather than targeting Houthi forces in Yemen, Ankara, Esen said, could expand its regional influence without inviting a backlash.
Under Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution, the deployment of Turkish armed forces abroad requires authorization from the Grand National Assembly.
Analysts note that Ankara could focus on providing technical and intelligence support, including drone operators and air defense specialists, rather than deploying combat troops, thereby avoiding a potentially contentious debate over direct military involvement.
Taking a cautious view of the Mecca pact's role in collective defense, Baris Doster, an international relations scholar at Marmara University, said that unless the three parties face a common threat, the agreement is more likely to serve as a symbolic diplomatic gesture than as an operational military alliance. ■
