Syria is considering joining the new defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has confirmed.
Speaking during an official visit to Islamabad, Shaibani said Damascus was studying the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement but had not yet made a final decision on whether to join.
He described Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan as important regional powers and said Syria would decide its position at a later stage.
The pact was signed in Mecca on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all of them, while the pact also seeks to expand broader defence cooperation and collective deterrence.
Syria’s interest comes amid continued Israeli military attacks on Syrian territory and growing tensions over Türkiye’s expanding security role in the country.
Israel recently struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, claiming Damascus was preparing to allow Turkish forces to deploy there. Syria and Türkiye denied that a Turkish base or military buildup was planned.
Shaibani accused Israel of pursuing expansionist ambitions and violating the 1974 disengagement agreement governing the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Damascus has said its immediate priority is ending Israeli attacks and securing Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian territory occupied since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Shaibani’s visit was the first by a Syrian foreign minister to Pakistan since Assad’s overthrow.
He held talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir as Damascus and Islamabad seek to deepen political, economic and security ties.
The possibility of Syria joining the agreement would further expand what is emerging as a new regional security framework centred on Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and nuclear-armed Pakistan.
