Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has stated that the defence agreement signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is not aimed against anyone but we all know why the three Muslim states are joining together to guarantee to guarantee each other’s security.
Iran and Israel are currently the most aggressive belligerents in the region with Turkey’s main concern being Israel while Saudi Arabia’s concern is mainly Iran followed by Israel. Israel has issues with Turkey as Turkey provides support to the Palestinian cause and extends its reach across the region most lately through Syria, where Israel bombed Turkey’s anti-air defences.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, which has been intentionally delaying its participation in the Abraham Accords and full recognition of Israel due to its support for the Palestinian cause, faces a much wider and more diverse range of security concerns. These include not only Israel, but also more immediate threats from its Houthi enemies and Iran, from which it came under attack during the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Pakistan, like Saudi Arabia, also does not recognise Israel, but Pakistan’s more immediate security concerns are with regard to India over Kashmir.
This alliance is unusual because the security threats faced by one party are not necessarily the same threats or belligerents faced by another—for example, Turkey and India with regard to Pakistan. However, all three parties have issues with Israel.
Israel’s belligerence in Palestine and in the region has also been acknowledged by some of its most strongest allies in the US, with the US President donald Trump distancing himself altogether from Israel’s push into Syria and ignoring its pressure to avoid selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Washington has been mostly muted over the Mecca agreement
Europe, on the other hand, should raise the issue of this agreement within NATO. Turkey is now party to two defence agreements, with each agreement spanning different regions and partners. The security concerns of NATO are altogether different from those of the new Turkey-Saudi Arabia-Pakistan alliance, and it should be unsettling that a European defence ally would join a defence alliance with different security interests. There may be many areas of political convergence, including on Syria, which the West is welcoming back into the international diplomatic community despite opposition from Israel. However, there is a risk that these interests could diverge in the future and even come into conflict with one another.
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