Mecca Joint Defense Agreement does not target any country: Turkish foreign minister

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.

Fidan said discussions on the initiative began before the current war environment, when there was no Iran-US-Israel war, but Türkiye anticipated that American security concerns in the region would change, other developments would emerge and its fight against terrorism would remain on the agenda.

He stressed that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are not expansionist countries.

"Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, when you look at their foreign policy positions, are not countries that have expansionist policies. They are countries concerned with their own borders, their own problems and their development, and, if possible, they want to contribute positively to their environment through good relations and good neighborliness," he said.

Fidan said the three countries have different styles and capacities, but when brought together, they naturally form a defense-oriented organization rather than an offensive one.

"Now, when we come together with these countries, naturally we are becoming a defense-oriented organization. It is not an approach of going on the offensive and saying, 'Let's do this or that together.' Therefore, unless it is attacked by a country, whether from inside or outside the region, this alliance cannot have any dispute with any country. But, of course, the power composition we have put forward will make a constructive contribution to regional stability," he said.

Fidan said that was the reason for advancing the initiative and stressed that Iran was not the target of the agreement.

He added that countries that do not attack the signatories are not considered targets.

Fidan said the alliance had been examined closely from legal, political and strategic perspectives and that Türkiye saw no problem with the framework. He also noted that NATO countries had previously concluded similar agreements.

"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," he said.

"The Mecca Agreement is the most important step toward bringing lasting stability to this region," Fidan said, adding that the region has experienced instability for the past century since the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire.

Fidan described the signing of the agreement as a "historic day," saying it represented one of the milestones that Türkiye had been pursuing for years under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's leadership.

He said the region had suffered from long-running instability characterized by wars, occupations, exiles and displaced people across Türkiye's east and southeast and the broader geography generally known as the Middle East.

Fidan said successive AK Party governments had closely monitored and analyzed this lack of a stable regional system for years and had considered how a lasting order could be established to address those problems.

He said Türkiye had further developed its ideas on the issue over the past several years, focusing on practical steps that could be taken. After initial assessments were made, those ideas were shared with relevant parties and eventually brought to the stage of being translated into concrete action.

- 'REGIONAL OWNERSHIP IS IMPORTANT'

Fidan said increasing regional ownership of security issues is central to Türkiye's approach.

"External hegemons coming into the region do not solve the problems; they make them more acute, and the cost becomes very high," he said, arguing that regional countries should develop more institutional mechanisms through which they can ensure their own security, economic stability, development and prosperity.

Fidan said Türkiye has strong relations with almost all countries in the region, but noted that those relations had largely been shaped by prevailing circumstances, political perceptions and understandings and could change at any moment.

He said Ankara had long believed that those ties should be made more permanent, adding that relations described as brotherly or otherwise should become more structural, professional and self-sustaining for the sake of regional stability.

Fidan said a region ultimately needs a defense alliance because countries cannot build economic structures on top of an environment in which they are uncertain about one another's security.

Citing the EU as an example, he said the European Economic Community took shape in the environment provided by the American security umbrella and later evolved.

He said Türkiye's regional vision similarly seeks to reduce or at least halt instability and eventually foster greater economic and social integration, improving the prosperity of regional populations.

Fidan acknowledged that the initiative is at an early stage and will not be easy to establish, but said Türkiye has already completed the intellectual and conceptual preparations and planning.

- AGREEMENT DISCUSSED FOR NEARLY 3 YEARS

Fidan said Türkiye had also worked on how the initiative could be implemented institutionally and was aware of the potential problems that could arise.

"I have been discussing these issues continuously for exactly two years and eight months with our partners, with the partners with whom we signed the agreement, and with other countries in the region," he said.

He added that President Erdogan had repeatedly raised the issue in his meetings with regional leaders.

Asked about the preparation process, Fidan said it involved moving the initiative "from the level of an idea to a concept, and from a concept to the point of an agreement."

- 'TÜRKİYE IS AWARE OF ITS RESPONSIBILITIES'

Fidan underscored that this is not a new phenomenon within NATO, saying: "Türkiye is, of course, a country that is aware of its responsibilities. We are in no position to keep these different geographies and different priorities to conflict with one another in any way."

Fidan said this was an area that needs to be managed and noted that he had also raised the issue during his meeting with his German counterpart.

The foreign minister pointed out that Türkiye's objective here is based on regional ownership, stressing that Ankara has influence in many strategic locations and signaling that a similar initiative should also be pursued in Europe.

He also said there have been serious discussions with Europe about what can be done regarding the security architecture, adding: "Given its geography, Türkiye has a strategic orientation toward the wider European geography through the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Balkans. For each strategic basin, you need to develop a perspective and align these perspectives, even when areas of tension emerge."

Fidan referred to Türkiye's experience in this area, noting that Ankara is a NATO country with distinct geographical conditions concerning the Middle East and the Caucasus and that this has been analyzed.

Fidan highlighted the breadth of Türkiye's strategic sphere, noting that each strategic basin has different positions and conditions.

Drawing attention to the need to develop security and economic architectures for these regions, Fidan said: "Because we do not approach this with a hegemonic mindset, we need to build this together with the countries of the region. Following the agreement in the Caucasus, hopefully -- there is currently a ceasefire, and it is a ceasefire that is working well -- Armenia and Azerbaijan are moving toward a lasting peace agreement, and we support this. While supporting this, we have a security and economic architecture perspective in mind."

Asked whether a similar structure could be established in regions such as the Caucasus and Central Asia, Fidan replied: "These can be built when necessary. At times, there may be a greater need for economic cooperation. But as you know, the Middle East's biggest problem right now is mutual wars, insecurity and conflicts, so we need to start with a security architecture. There is also a search for a security architecture in Europe."

Fidan said Europe's and the Middle East's security architectures could be harmonized through Türkiye in the medium- to long-term, noting that the "intellectual and conceptual groundwork" for this has already been established. He said both sides seek security, economic development and competitiveness, adding that these "strategic orientations can be harmonized," although turning generally accepted principles into practice will take time and "the transformation in Europe will be a longer-term transformation."