Turkey's parliament ratifies Mecca defence pact, clearing way for military support to Saudi Arabia

​Turkey's parliament ​on Thursday ratified ‌the Mecca ​Joint Defence Agreement, a defence pact between ‌Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, clearing the way for Ankara to send ‌military support to Riyadh amid ‌attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants against the kingdom.

Under the agreement, signed by ⁠the ​three ⁠regional powers in August and sent to ⁠parliament's approval last month, an attack on ​one party constitutes an attack ⁠on all. A ruling party lawmaker told ⁠Reuters ​last month that Turkey would also submit to parliament ⁠a mandate allowing for military personnel ⁠to ⁠be deployed to Saudi Arabia under the pact.