Turkey offers support to Saudi military as Houthi attacks test new defence pact

Turkish foreign mi​nister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference

Turkey has offered to help meet Saudi Arabia’s military needs as Houthi attacks on the kingdom intensify, potentially putting the recently signed Saudi Turkey Pakistan defence pact to its first major test.According to Reuters, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Saudi Arabia could have military requirements because of the attacks and that Turkey was ready to provide assistance. “They may have some military needs, especially on some technical issues. We would have no issues in meeting these,” Fidan told broadcaster NTV.“We see there are very serious attacks on Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty.

We have an alliance agreement in our pact. We are in serious solidarity on this point,” Fidan said.The comments come after Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement last month. The pact stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all three, creating a framework for collective defence cooperation.Pakistan has so far indicated that the pact has not triggered any immediate military response.

Islamabad said there had been no discussions about a military reaction to the Houthi attacks under the agreement, but added that Pakistan would act when the “time comes”.Saudi Arabia has faced a sharp escalation in Houthi attacks since July, with the Iran aligned group targeting Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping. The Houthis claimed on Saturday that they had attacked “sensitive” sites in Riyadh with missiles and drones and an Aramco facility in Yanbu.

Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh and thwarted attacks targeting other areas.According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia has sought direct US military help against the Houthis. US President Donald Trump declined Riyadh’s request for direct military intervention, while the agreed to provide intelligence sharing and targeting assistance.Fidan said it was unacceptable for Saudi Arabia to be drawn into the US-Iran war, as Riyadh had no desire to join the conflict. He added, without providing details, that proposals had been conveyed to all sides to end the fighting.