Turkey will not send troops to fight Houthis in Yemen, foreign minister says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that Turkey will not send troops to fight Yemen's Houthis, despite a defense pact with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have launched a wave of attacks on the kingdom, raising questions over whether the pact could draw Turkey into the conflict.

Does Turkey's defense pact with Saudi Arabia require it to fight the Houthis?

No. Fidan said the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is defensive, not offensive. Under it, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan must support each other's defense if one is attacked. Turkey will not send troops onto another country's territory to launch an attack.

"This is a defense agreement," Fidan said, adding: "If one of the countries is attacked, you support its defense. This is not an offensive agreement." He stressed that Turkey "will not send its troops to another country's territory to launch an attack."

What is the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement?

Turkey signed the agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in August. It commits the three countries to come to each other's aid if one of them is attacked.

The pact links NATO's second-largest army, Gulf oil giant Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the Muslim world's only nuclear-armed state. It still needs parliamentary ratification in Turkey.

Fidan said Turkish and Saudi military delegations would work together to assess what defensive measures might be needed. He did not give details.

Could the pact draw Turkey into the Houthi conflict?

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched a wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia since they began a major offensive in Yemen against the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government. The renewed violence has raised questions over whether the pact could draw its members into the conflict.

Turkish officials have repeatedly played that down. "NATO was not built in a day," a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP last month.