- Saudi Arabia is the key backer of Syria’s incumbent government.
- Kingdom signs defence agreement with Pakistan and Turkiye.
- UK said it would deploy fighter jets to help KSA against attacks.
Syria’s top diplomat on Saturday said Damascus is considering whether to join the Nato-style Makkah defence alliance that binds Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia, under fire from Yemen’s Houthis, is a key backer of Syria’s government that came to power after the fall of former strongman Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
“Discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Makkah alliance,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia has been rallying support against escalating Houthi attacks, including a major strike that closed Riyadh’s international airport for two weeks this month.
In August, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the defence pact in Makkah, which states an attack on one country is to be considered an attack on all three.
Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise visit to Riyadh and said France had sent troops to help shield a key Saudi oil terminal from Houthi attacks.
Also in October, the UK government announced it would deploy British fighter planes to help Saudi Arabia against the attacks.
The United States on Friday confirmed that it had ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, effective October 23, citing security risks from Houthi attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure.
The US embassy in Riyadh warned American citizens of possible further attacks, airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions.
The fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government has intensified in recent weeks, opening another volatile front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran.
A truce between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition collapsed in July. The group subsequently declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, attacked Saudi vessels and the East-West pipeline, and seized Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Reuters.
