According to Saudi Arabia, the defense agreement poses no threat to any country in the region and is not related to “any nuclear weapons-related ambitions.”
“The goal is to build sustainable defense capabilities,” Deputy Minister of National Media Rayed Krimly writes on X.
The new defense cooperation does not contradict Turkey’s commitments within NATO, Turkey emphasizes.
“The agreement does not contradict Turkey’s existing international alliances, including those at the heart of NATO,” the government’s anti-disinformation department writes on X.
Other countries may also join the agreement, a Turkish official said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, around lunchtime on Friday. He met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Deepened military cooperation between the countries “has been discussed for a long time, but recent events in the region have accelerated the process,” according to a statement.
The wording refers, among other things, to the Iran war. Pakistan has played a mediating role in this. Attempts to get Iran and the US to reach an agreement are expected to feature prominently in the discussions in Jeddah.
The agreement comes at a time when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen has escalated attacks on Saudi targets.
