Erdoğan says Egypt could join regional defense pact
ANKARA
(AA photo)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has noted that Egypt could join the new joint defense pact alongside Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, signaling that the nascent alliance is open to expanding its reach.
“This agreement has sent an important message to the world,” Erdoğan told Al Jazeera in an interview aired Aug. 16. He said Egypt’s participation was among the options for expanding the agreement in the future.
The deal, known as the Mecca Pact, was signed in the holy city last week by Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack against all three, establishing a collective-deterrence provision that analysts have compared with NATO’s Article 5. Officials have cautioned, however, against viewing the pact as a NATO equivalent or as being directed against any particular country.
Erdoğan’s comments came as he discussed a range of regional issues, including tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and conflicts in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.
He said reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a priority for Ankara, arguing that its continued closure served no one’s interests. Erdoğan also credited Qatar with playing an important role in mediation efforts aimed at ending fighting in the region.
“Türkiye cannot leave Gaza alone,” Erdoğan said, pledging that Ankara would do whatever was necessary to support the Palestinian territory.
He said Hamas was fulfilling its commitments in good faith while Israel continued its military campaign in Gaza.
On Syria, Erdoğan said Turkiye would do everything in its power to support stability and reiterated plans to visit the country. He also said Syria’s Kurds would have “a share of peace and stability,” adding that Türkiye would continue strengthening ties with Kurdish communities and safeguarding their rights across the region.
Erdoğan also voiced concern over continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon. He said he had raised the need to end the war in Lebanon with U.S. President Donald Trump during his recent visit to Türkiye.
The interview also touched on Türkiye’s efforts to return to the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program.
Türkiye was removed from the multinational program in 2019 after acquiring Russia’s S-400 air defense system, which Washington said could compromise the aircraft’s technology.
Trump said during the NATO summit in Ankara last month that his administration would lift sanctions imposed on Türkiye over the S-400 purchase. He also said a Turkish return to the F-35 program was “something certainly we’d consider.” Any potential sale still faces opposition in Congress.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan marked the 25th anniversary of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at a rally in Ankara on Aug. 14, saying he intended to remain active in politics for years to come.
“As Tayyip Erdoğan, I have left behind 50 years in politics. If God grants me life and health, I will continue to serve Türkiye for many more years,” he said.
“We are just getting started,” he added, saying the party’s movement would carry Türkiye, “God willing, first to 2053 and then to 2071.”
Founded on Aug. 14, 2001, the AKP won 34.3 percent of the vote in its first national election in November 2002, forming a single-party government.
Erdoğan was elected president for a third term in May 2023. Under AKP leadership, Türkiye transitioned from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential model in 2018, a change opposition parties have criticized.