Turkey wants other countries to join the newly created defense pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, indicating that this is part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's vision, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
"According to the vision of our president, we should not limit ourselves to just three countries. We should expand cooperation and, if necessary, unite all countries under this common format," Fidan told the Anadolu Agency (AA).
According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, several countries have already expressed interest in joining. He expressed his expectation that in the longer term, Egypt would also be included in the defense agreement, after "a few technical issues" are resolved.
Fidan pointed out that Turkey maintains good relations with most countries in the region, but in his opinion, a formal institutional framework is needed to guarantee lasting stability. "The intervention of external great powers in the region does not solve problems, but deepens them, and at a very high cost," he said.
Nuclear-weapon Pakistan, regional power Saudi Arabia and NATO member Turkey signed a trilateral mutual defense agreement in the Saudi city of Mecca on Friday, amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.
According to the agreement, an armed attack on one of the three countries will be considered an attack on all of them. Fidan compared this principle to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for mutual assistance in the event of an armed attack against a NATO member state.
Depending on the nature of the threat, the participants in the pact will be able to request various forms of support, including intelligence information, logistical assistance, ammunition and military units. The agreement also provides for the conduct of joint military exercises and training, as well as deepening cooperation in the field of defense.