Turkey says Mecca Defense Pact not directed at any state

• Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan established the “Mecca Defense Pact” as a new regional security framework.
• Turkish FM Hakan Fidan said the alliance is not directed against any specific state and is open to other regional countries.
• Fidan criticized Netanyahu and warned that continued regional military escalation threatens stability and security.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday that the newly established trilateral alliance between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan will be officially known as the “Mecca Defense Pact,” describing it as a new framework for regional security and collective defense.

Speaking at high-level meetings in Istanbul attended by the foreign, defense, and military chiefs of the three founding countries, Fidan said regional states should work together to strengthen security and promote peace.

Fidan stressed that the alliance “is not directed against any particular country and said it would remain open to other regional states.

“The pact is not directed against any specific state, and its doors are open to all sisterly nations,” Fidan said, adding that the founding members had begun developing the alliance’s institutional framework with the possibility of admitting additional members.

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Criticism of Netanyahu

Fidan also addressed recent regional developments, criticizing ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and saying he “has become a threat to the international community and must be stopped.”

He also pointed to what he described as increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Turkey from ‘Israeli’ officials and media outlets ahead of upcoming elections.