Overview
- Turkey’s parliament voted to ratify the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement this week, completing a key legal step that formalises collective defence between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
- Saudi and Syrian defence ministries signed a cooperation agreement during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Riyadh on Wednesday, though the text of the deal was not made public.
- Reporters and officials said Syria has sent military advisers and training teams to Saudi Arabia to help prepare Saudi and allied Yemeni forces for Houthi attacks, but exact force levels and mandates were not disclosed.
- The Saudi Fund for Development agreed six concessional loan deals worth about $403 million to rebuild Syrian energy, health, housing and water systems as part of wider diplomatic outreach.
- Key operational, legal and political issues remain unresolved, including whether troop deployments will require separate parliamentary approvals or a Status of Forces Agreement, and U.S. officials have warned such cooperation could increase the risk of wider escalation.