Reuters: Turkey plans parliamentary mandate for Saudi deployment

Turkey's government plans to seek parliamentary authorization to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia after ratification of a defence agreement, a ruling AK Party lawmaker told Reuters.

The lawmaker spoke on condition of anonymity and said a separate deployment mandate would be submitted after parliament approved the bill ratifying the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.

Turkey sent the agreement to parliament on October 20. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed it in August. Ratifying the pact and authorizing a military deployment require separate parliamentary procedures.

The lawmaker said the initial deployment would involve technical personnel and specialists supporting air defence, electronic warfare and other defensive tasks. Turkish personnel deployed under the pact would not participate in offensive operations, the lawmaker told Reuters.