Turkey is holding high level negotiations to enter into a defence alliance with Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan where aggression against one member stated would be treated as an attack on all the members, similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
According to a Bloomberg report, the deal which was initially signed between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is similar to Article 5 in NATO. Turkey is the second largest military entity in NATO after the US.
Sources cited by Bloomberg stated that the deal is highly likely and that the discussions regarding Turkey's membership are at the advanced stage.
This military pact aligns with Turkey's geopolitical interests which coincide with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's in South Asia, as well as the Middle East and Africa, as per the sources' statement to Bloomberg.
Turkey further views this move as an avenue to consolidate security and deter military aggression in the wake of the questionable reliability of both US, as well as its President Donald Trump's support of NATO.
Saudi Arabia brings financial strength to the table, while Pakistan provides nuclear capabilies, ballistic missiles and manpower, and Turkey has an advanced military experience and consolidated a defense industry, as per a statement to Bloomberg from Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist with think tank TEPAV based in Ankara.
“As the US prioritizes its own interests and that of Israel in the region, changing dynamics and fallout from regional conflicts are prompting countries to develop new mechanisms to identify friends and foes,” Ozcan said.
Ramifications Of The Alliance
If Turkey enters the alliance, it would mark a new epoch in its relations with Saudi Arabia as the former rival leaders of the Sunni Muslim world.
The alliance has also placed Iran, which has a Shiite majority, under scrutiny but prefer to engage with the nation instead of using force. Turkey and Saudi Arabia are also in support of a stabble Sunni-led state in Syria and a Palestinian statehood.
Turkey and Pakistan, meanwhile, have long enjoyed close military relations. Ankara is building corvette warships for Islamabad's navy and has upgraded dozens of its F-16s. Turkey is already sharing drone technology with both countries, and now wants them to join its Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet program, Bloomberg reported earlier.
The trilateral defense talks had taken place after a cease-fire between Pakistan and India that ended a four-day military clash between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May, called 'Operation Sindoor'.
Tensions are also high between Pakistan and its northern neighbor, Afghanistan, due to a series of clashes after Islamabad accused the Taliban of hosting hostile militant groups. Turkey and Qatar mediated talks to end the fighting, but they ended inconclusively.
(With Bloomberg inputs)
IndiGo Permitted To Operate 5 Leased B737 Planes From Turkey Only Till March 2026: DGCA
