Syria weighs joining Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defence pact as regional tensions rise

Syria is considering entering a mutual defence agreement linking Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday. Speaking at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain, he said discussions were taking place to assess membership and presented Syria as an integral participant in regional security.

The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on 7 August to deepen defence cooperation. Its members undertake to regard an attack against any one of them as an attack against all three, following a collective security principle comparable to Nato’s. Al-Shaibani said the region increasingly needed coordinated defence and deterrence arrangements, and that Damascus would back frameworks intended to preserve stability.

Membership discussions are still preliminary, according to Samy Akil, a political analyst and senior adviser at Syria Report. He told Middle East Eye that Syria was unlikely to become the alliance’s fourth member soon. Akil characterised the initiative partly as sabre-rattling, saying Damascus was testing the possibility and that any eventual outcome would depend on the agreement’s detailed terms.

The proposal comes amid escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which has targeted airports, military facilities and energy infrastructure. On Friday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen reported intercepting Houthi drones over the Mecca and Medina regions. The Houthis subsequently denied responsibility. Akil linked the timing of Syria’s remarks to its assessment of regional tensions and the prospect of further escalation.

Turkey and Pakistan have promised military support for Saudi Arabia, although neither has announced operations against the Houthis. According to Al Jazeera, Turkish officials have ruled out deploying troops to fight in Yemen, while the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee has approved legislation to ratify the pact. In Bahrain, al-Shaibani also backed Yemen’s internationally recognised government and urged regional actors to respect national sovereignty and unity.

Saudi Arabia has become a major regional partner for Syria’s new government since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024. President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on 6 October for talks covering bilateral ties, reconstruction, investment and regional affairs. Damascus has also condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and civilian infrastructure and supported the kingdom’s efforts to defend its security.

Following that visit, Syrian officials rejected reports that Riyadh had requested Syrian ground troops to fight the Houthis. Al-Sharaa’s media adviser, Ahmad Zaidan, dismissed the reports as false, while the foreign ministry’s media department said Syria sought peace, stability and cooperation. Akil cautioned against Syrian involvement in the fighting, suggesting that any contribution might instead consist of a small contingent providing logistical assistance.

Israel is another factor in Damascus’s calculations, Akil said. With Israeli forces holding positions in southern Syria, he argued that stronger regional security ties could improve Syria’s negotiating position. Al-Shaibani said Israeli attacks on Syrian territory had exceeded 1,000 in less than two years and killed dozens. He also reiterated demands for Israeli forces to return to their positions before 8 December 2024 and for implementation of the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Akil said membership would allow Syria to invoke the pact’s provisions if attacked. For now, however, the discussions leave unresolved both the military obligations Damascus might accept and the role it could perform within the alliance.