Turkey says Saudi-Pakistan defence pact mirrors NATO’s Article 5, Egypt could also join

Turkey says Saudi-Pakistan defence pact mirrors NATO’s Article 5, Egypt could also join Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says the new defence agreement between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is technically equivalent to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause and does not target Iran. Fidan told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that the three countries would establish a ministerial committee…

middleeasteye.net ·4d ago

Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia have signed a mutual defence pact, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stating that it is technically equivalent to NATO's Article 5 mutual defence clause. According to Fidan, the agreement does not target Iran. The pact will establish a ministerial committee and a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement stipulates that an attack on any of the three countries will be treated as an attack on all of them. This is similar to NATO's Article 5 principle, as reported by several outlets. Egypt may also join the alliance once technical issues are resolved, Fidan added, as reported by Middle East Eye and Al-Monitor.

The pact comes as Saudi Arabia faces escalating attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels. The agreement was signed on Friday, with the three countries set to establish a collective-defense alliance, according to Egypt Independent.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, Al-Monitor, CBS News, France 24, Egypt Independent — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.