On August 7, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan signed a new trilateral defense alliance called the "Mecca Agreement." The main purpose of the agreement, signed by the leaders of all three countries, is collective defense.
It was stated that the "Mecca Agreement" serves to strengthen the collective deterrence mechanism to prevent aggression and expand all areas of cooperation in defense.
The Turkish side declared that the agreement is not directed against any specific country or party. The agreement is open for other states in the region to join.
The strategic alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as the "Shusha Declaration" which includes military cooperation, brings to the agenda the possibility of Azerbaijan joining this alliance.
It is interesting how realistic Azerbaijan's participation in this alliance is.
In a statement to Modern.az, political analyst Elkhan Shahinoglu stated that Azerbaijan attaches more importance to bilateral relations with the countries in the "Mecca Agreement":
"In my opinion, Azerbaijan's joining the alliance of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan is not yet relevant. Yes, Azerbaijan has strategic relations with Turkey, and there is the Shusha Declaration between the two countries. We also have strategic partnership relations with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. All three countries did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia due to the occupation of Karabakh. Despite the victory we achieved in the Second Karabakh War, all three countries have not yet restored diplomatic relations with Armenia. Although Turkey and Pakistan have established diplomatic contacts with Yerevan, they will not restore diplomatic relations without signing a peace agreement. This speaks to the value of cooperation with Azerbaijan. Despite all this, Azerbaijan attaches more importance to bilateral relations."
According to the political analyst, Azerbaijan's entry into this alliance is not yet relevant in terms of its relations with Israel:
"The relations of both Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and especially Turkey with Israel are complex and tense. If Azerbaijan joins this triple alliance, it will be forced to take the same position against Israel. However, under current conditions, Azerbaijan cooperates with Israel and has partnership relations with it. For this reason, I think that Azerbaijan's joining the newly formed triple alliance is not yet relevant."
