The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye announced that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, during which he conveyed Türkiye’s steadfast support for Saudi Arabia.
According to the statement, President Erdoğan strongly condemned the attack carried out by the Houthis in Yemen against Saudi Arabia and expressed his sorrow over the loss of life caused by the attack. President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye would continue to stand by Saudi Arabia and expressed his confidence that the current challenges would be overcome.
According to a statement issued by the Saudi-led multinational coalition, the Houthis in Yemen attacked a terminal at King Khalid International Airport on 10 October. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation reported that 12 people were killed and 309 others injured in the attack.
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" in August. The agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries shall be considered an attack against all three.
On 5 October, the three countries met in Riyadh for an emergency meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the "Mecca Defence Alliance" to discuss the evolving security situation and threats facing Saudi Arabia. At the meeting, they agreed to the immediate deployment of military forces to Saudi Arabia.