Syrian Foreign Minister says Damascus is weighing entry into Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defence pact

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said discussions are under way over whether Syria should join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, the mutual-defence pact linking Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan.

“There are currently discussions to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca Alliance,” al-Shaibani said during the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

The pact was signed in Mecca on Aug. 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

It commits the three countries to regard an armed attack on one member as an attack on all and calls for stronger collective deterrence, military coordination, joint training and defence-industry cooperation.

Al-Shaibani said Syria could no longer think about its security separately from the wider region and described Gulf security as part of Syria’s own regional security.

He also said Damascus stands with Gulf states against cross-border militias and argued that weapons outside state control weaken national institutions and threaten neighbouring countries.

The Syrian foreign minister did not announce a formal application for membership or provide a timetable for a decision.

The Mecca pact remains open to other regional states. Turkish officials have described it as a defensive arrangement rather than an offensive military bloc and said prospective members must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.

Türkiye’s parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee approved legislation to ratify the agreement earlier this week, while Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have already completed their domestic ratification procedures.