Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says a defence agreement signed by Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is technically equivalent to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause. Fidan says the accord is designed around a structure that resembles NATO decision-making, including a ministerial committee and a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia.
Fidan also says the pact is not aimed at Iran. Speaking after the agreement is signed, he adds that President Tayyip Erdogan wants to see the alliance expand. He mentions Egypt as a potential candidate, pending resolution of “technical issues” among the parties.
The outlets reporting on the statement present the same core elements: the agreement is framed as comparable to NATO’s mutual defence mechanism, it includes Saudi-based administrative arrangements, and it includes discussion of possible enlargement beyond the initial three countries. Both sources attribute the comments to Fidan and refer to the pact being signed on Friday.
