Syria considers Gulf security as part of its own and has been in “negotiations” about joining the Makkah defence agreement, Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday.
“Regarding Makkah pact integration, there are some negotiations on this issue and regardless of whether it is in the pact or not, or any other pact, Syria is part of the security of this region and it'll stand by any organisation that protects the security of this area,” Al Shibani said. He emphasised the need for co-operation in deterrence and defence.
Mr Shibani highlighted Syria's “very special” relationship with Turkey, which is part of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and Syria's shared economic and military collaboration with the country.
The pact was signed in August and views an attack on one country as an attack on all. The signing came two months before the Iran-backed Houthis launched deadly attacks at several airports across the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia has since been looking to bolster international support for its fight against the Houthi rebels. Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara was in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
The Syrian government has repeatedly emphasised the importance of Gulf security to its own country's security but denied reports that Saudi Arabia had asked it for ground troops to fight the Houthis in Yemen.
The Makkah pact is widely viewed as a significant development in regional security, particularly in the long term, but is not currently being employed in Yemen, experts have said.
Most recently, representatives of the three Makkah pact member states travelled to Tehran in a bid to de-escalate tensions amid fears of a wider war returning between the US and Iran.
The trip aimed to establish a third channel of communication aside from current mediators Pakistan and Qatar, a security source told The National.
