Syria may join the Mecca defense alliance
Damascus is discussing the prospect of joining the Mecca defense alliance, which brings together Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.
As 1news.az reports citing Ynet, this was stated by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.
"Discussions are currently underway to assess the possibility of Syria joining the Mecca alliance," the minister said.
According to him, today no country in the region can ensure its security on its own. Al-Shaibani stressed that the security of the Persian Gulf is part of the security of Syria's region, adding that Damascus supports the Gulf countries in countering cross-border armed groups.
Note that the Mecca joint defense agreement was signed on August 7. The document stipulates that an attack on one of the participating countries will be considered an attack on all of them.
The agreement provides for the creation of mechanisms involving defense ministers, foreign ministers, and chiefs of general staff, with coordination carried out at the highest level. Cooperation will begin with command-and-staff and field exercises, and at later stages will grow into joint exercises involving ground, naval, and air forces, air defense assets, and unmanned systems.
