NATO member Turkey is having talks with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to join a defense alliance established in September between the two countries, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday.
“At present, there are discussions and talks underway, but no agreement has yet been signed,” Fidan told reporters.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “vision is broader, more comprehensive and aimed at establishing a larger platform,” he added.
The defense agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, announced amid tensions in the Gulf region, raises many questions, particularly about its possible nuclear component, given Islamabad possesses nuclear weapons.
The Pakistan-Saudi pact was signed just months after Pakistan and India fought an intense four-day conflict in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides in missile, drone and artillery fire, the worst clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbors since 1999.
Pakistan and India, also a nuclear power, have long accused each other of backing militant forces to destabilize one another.
Saudi Arabia is believed to have played a key role in defusing the conflict.
© Agence France-Presse