ISTANBUL
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday that the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is technically the same as Article 5 of the NATO Treaty concerning collective defense.
Speaking at Anadolu’s Editor’s Desk program, Fidan said the agreement signed by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan aims to contribute to lasting stability in the region.
“There is no common threat that we have put in writing,” Fidan said, adding that the agreement does not target any country that does not attack its signatories.
He stressed that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are not expansionist countries.
“Under our president’s vision, we should not remain limited to three countries. We should grow and, if necessary, bring all countries under this umbrella,” the minister added.
“The Mecca Agreement is the most important step toward bringing lasting stability to this region,” Fidan said, adding that the region has experienced instability over the past century since the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Fidan said that when the war of attrition extends beyond the front lines, the conflict becomes a matter of national survival.
“When the war of attrition turns into attrition beyond the front lines, the issue becomes whether a nation will continue to exist. You use whatever means you have at your disposal,” he said.
On the island of Cyprus, Fidan said Türkiye does not recognize the Greek Cypriot Administration as a state and stressed that the rights of Turkish Cypriots must be respected.
“We do not recognize the Greek Cypriot side as a state. If you do not recognize the rights of Turkish Cypriots, then I do not recognize your statehood,” Fidan said.
“You are not the state established in 1960,” he added.
Fidan also said peace and stability on the island of Cyprus are due to the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island.
He also called for continuing the international political isolation of Israel, saying this is something Israel fears the most.
