- Turkish foreign, defense ministers to attend talks alongside Pakistani, Saudi officials
- Meeting to discuss regional developments, progress on institutionalizing the alliance
ISTANBUL: A committee of the Makkah defense pact between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers among those attending, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced on Sunday the beginning of a major military operation against the Iran-backed Houthis earlier on Sunday, aimed at seizing the territory under their control.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Friday that Iran had suggested engaging Yemen’s Houthis politically after attacks by the group, an idea that the Makkah defense pact committee would discuss at a meeting in Riyadh this week.
“The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance’s institutionalization efforts,” the Turkish statement said.
It said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu would attend the meeting of the pact’s strategic political and defense committee, along with officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
