Syria weighing whether to join Makkah pact: foreign minister

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Saturday said Damascus was considering whether to join the Makkah defence pact that binds Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on Aug 7, empowers the three members to consider an armed attack on one member an attack on all.

“Discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Makkah alliance,” Al Shaibani said at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.

According to Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), speaking about the ongoing regional conflicts, the foreign minister expressed Damascus’s support for the Gulf states against any aggression and condemned missile and drone attacks.

“Geography is destiny, and integration is a choice. We have chosen to make our territory a bridge for prosperity and the exchange of interests, and we stand as a bulwark against turning Syria into a platform for threatening neighbouring countries,” he was quoted as saying.

Al Shaibani also condemned repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, affirmed that occupied Golan was Syrian land, and called for a path to an independent Palestinian state.

Saudi Arabia has been rallying support against escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, including a deadly strike that closed Riyadh’s international airport for two weeks this month.

Islamabad has two defence pacts with Riyadh aimed at collective deterrence — the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between the two and the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement that also includes Turkiye.

Pakistan is providing “whatever support is needed” to defend Saudi Arabia amid the Houthi attacks, the military’s spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said earlier this month.

However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general also clarified that all members of the Makkah Defence Alliance were “absolutely clear […] that this alliance has no offensive intent; it is purely defensive”.

A day earlier, he said that the wording of the pact did not bar new members after being asked about whether Iran could join the agreement.

“Anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace, why not? Everyone is most welcome,” he said, adding that it was for the political leadership of the three principal parties to decide.

In August, two weeks after the Makkah pact was signed, the Syrian foreign minister visited Pakistan and called on Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.

They both discussed “regional security environment and avenues for enhanced bilateral defence and security cooperation”, ISPR said.

Amid the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise visit to Riyadh earlier this month and said France had sent troops to help shield a key Saudi oil terminal from attacks.

Also in October, the United Kingdom’s government announced it would deploy British fighter planes to help Saudi Arabia against the attacks.