RIYADH – Syria is looking at becoming fourth member of Makkah defence alliance, its foreign minister said as the pact built by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye continues to remain in headlines.
Asaad al-Shaibani told Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain that discussions on bringing Syria into the grouping were now taking place. He did not say when a decision might come. Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Aug 7. Its core principle is simple: an armed attack on one signatory counts as an attack on all three.
Al Shaibani used the same platform to declare Damascus’s solidarity with the Gulf states against any aggression. He condemned the missile and drone attacks hitting the region.
He said Damascus wanted its territory to serve as bridge for trade and shared interests, and would not allow it to become a base for threatening its neighbours. He also turned to Israel, condemning its repeated strikes inside Syria and restating that the occupied Golan Heights belong to Syria. He called for a clear path toward an independent Palestinian state.
The timing is hard to separate from the pressure on Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has been pushing for backing as Yemen’s Houthi rebels step up their attacks. This month, a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s airport killed 12 people and kept the international airport shut for two weeks, the worst assault on the kingdom in about a decade.
Pakistan’s commitments to Saudi Arabia run on two tracks, first the bilateral Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, and the wider Makkah pact that includes Turkiye. Both are framed around collective deterrence.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Army spokesman DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan would provide “whatever support is needed” to help defend Saudi Arabia. The ISPR director general stressed that all Makkah alliance members agree on its purpose: it has no offensive intent and is purely defensive.
A day before Al Shaibani comments, the same official was asked whether Tehran could join. He said the pact’s wording does not bar new members. “Anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace, why not? Everyone is most welcome,” he said, adding that any decision belongs to the political leadership of the three founding states.
Syria has already been in contact with Islamabad on the subject of defence. In August, about two weeks after the pact was signed, Al Shaibani visited Pakistan and met Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. According to ISPR, they reviewed the regional security situation and ways to deepen defence and security cooperation.
Field Marshal Asim Munir leads Pakistan delegation to Tehran as Iran hosts Makkah Alliance members
News Desk
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