ISTANBUL: Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh today, Monday, under their Makkah defense pact, Türkiye’s foreign ministry said, as a new military offensive against Yemen’s Houthis adds urgency to regional security discussions.

The meeting comes a day after the leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced a major military operation aimed at taking territory controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Diplomatic engagement with the group is also under consideration. Pakistan’s foreign minister said Friday that Iran had suggested engaging the Houthis politically following attacks by the group, an idea the pact’s committee would discuss in Riyadh.

“The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance’s institutionalization efforts,” Türkiye’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will attend the meeting of the pact’s strategic political and defense committee alongside Pakistani and Saudi officials, the ministry said.