Syria is considering joining the Mecca Alliance, the defence pact that brings together Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday at the IISS Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain.
Source: LaPresse
"Discussions are currently under way to assess Syria's accession to the Mecca Alliance," al-Shaibani said, according to LaPresse. He gave no details on the timing or the conditions of any possible accession.
The Associated Press reported the same announcement from Manama: al-Shaibani said Syria is in discussions to evaluate joining the Mecca Pact, the Saudi-led defence alliance that includes Turkey and Pakistan.
Source: Associated Press via Walton Tribune
The pact, conceived as a defence agreement modelled on NATO, was signed on August 7 by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, with the three countries agreeing that an armed attack on one of them would be treated as an attack on all, according to reporting of the agreement.
The door to new members was left publicly open this week. Pakistan's military spokesman, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told Reuters that the text of the agreement did not bar the entry of any new members. "Anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace, why not? Everyone is most welcome," he said, adding that any such decision would rest with the political leadership of the three founding parties.
Speaking at the same forum, al-Shaibani also said border security between Syria and Jordan is a shared responsibility and that a high-level meeting is expected next month to discuss arrangements, adding that there are no "skirmishes" between the two countries, the AP reported. Jordan said its strikes inside Syria last week killed 20 militants of the Islamic State group but acknowledged that civilians had also been killed; Syrian authorities reported seven people killed in the strikes. The two sides have since agreed a joint security committee and reopened the Nassib border crossing.
No accession decision has been announced and al-Shaibani gave no timetable. If Syria were to join, the young regional defence bloc built around Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad would widen significantly at a moment when the region's governments are publicly pressing for calm over fears of a renewed United States-Israel-Iran war.