Turkey Offers Military Support to Saudi Arabia Against Houthis

Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday that Ankara is prepared to help Saudi Arabia meet military needs as the kingdom faces ongoing attacks from Yemen’s Houthis. The offer comes under a trilateral defense pact signed last month that also includes Pakistan, which treats an armed attack on any member as an attack on all three.

• ▪Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey would have ‘no issues’ providing military and technical support to Saudi Arabia under the joint defense agreement.
• ▪The Houthis have been launching sustained attacks on Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade in July, targeting cities, energy infrastructure, and shipping in the Red Sea.
• ▪Houthi attacks threaten global oil supplies and disrupt a key alternative shipping route for Gulf exports as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted.
• ▪Fidan criticized the inclusion of Saudi Arabia in US-Iran tensions, saying the kingdom had no desire to join that conflict and it was unacceptable to force it into one.
• ▪Turkey said it has conveyed proposals to all sides to end the fighting but noted ‘the sides need to accept these’ for progress to occur.
• ▪President Trump has declined Saudi requests for military support against the Houthis, despite the group’s recent ceasefire agreement with the United States.
• ▪The Houthis claimed Saturday they attacked ‘sensitive’ sites in Riyadh with missiles and drones, with smoke and flames reported near the capital’s main airport.
• ▪Turkey, which commands NATO’s second-largest military, has condemned the Houthi attacks and called for their immediate cessation.
• ▪The three-nation defense pact, signed in August, stipulates that armed attack on one member constitutes an attack on all three, and is open to expansion.

Source: according to media reports