Turkey is in advanced talks to join a mutual defense pact signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that treats an attack on one member as an attack on all, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Turkish Defense Ministry declined to comment to Bloomberg, while Pakistan’s Information Ministry did not respond and Saudi authorities were not immediately available.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the agreement in Riyadh on September 17, Reuters reported at the time, describing language that frames “any aggression” against either country as an attack on both.
Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country. The pact’s collective defense language has prompted questions among analysts about whether it could strengthen Saudi Arabia’s deterrence, though neither government has described it as a nuclear umbrella.
Turkey is a member of NATO.
A move toward the pact would come following a thaw between Ankara and Riyadh after ties deteriorated following the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate General in İstanbul, a case Turkey later transferred to Saudi Arabia.
This week Turkey and Saudi Arabia held their first naval cooperation and coordination meeting in Ankara.
Turkey and Pakistan have worked together on defense projects for years, including plans for corvette warships and Turkish Aerospace Industries modernization work on Pakistani F-16 fighter jets.