The bill regarding the approval of the “Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense,” signed between Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, has been accepted in the General Assembly of the TBMM.
In the vote regarding the agreement signed on August 7, 2026, 398 votes were cast in the Parliament, which has 592 deputies. The proposal was enacted with 279 votes in favor and 119 against. In addition to the AKP and MHP, the CHP, currently under the administration of 'absolute nullity' (butlan), also voted in favor of the agreement.
Speaking in the General Assembly on behalf of the 'Butlan' CHP group, Istanbul Deputy and member of the TBMM Foreign Affairs Committee Oğuz Kaan Salıcı defended their party's stance based on foreign policy and regional security grounds.
Salıcı stated that the assumption that security problems in the Middle East would be solved solely by the US is being questioned more, and that the question of who will ensure the security of the region has gained importance. Salıcı used the expressions, “Beijing? Washington? Moscow? Or the nations living in this geography, their own states, their own institutions, and their own diplomatic mechanisms?”
Emphasizing that their decision does not mean support for the AKP's foreign policy, Salıcı said, “We have no intention of approving an agreement cooked up by the Justice and Development Party, but we also need to say 'Yes' to the first step of a regional security architecture that will protect the interests of the Republic of Turkey.”
Stating that the agreement is not a troop deployment agreement, Salıcı expressed that they are against Turkey being automatically involved in the wars of other countries. Salıcı stated that in such a situation, their vote would be “against.”
At the end of his speech, Salıcı stated that their measure is not to be a “prop” for the AKP, and assessed, “We are in opposition to the end, but we believe that the Mecca Agreement is a security architecture agreement that will yield positive results for Turkey.”
News Source: 12punto
