The key facts

  • Hurriyet reports a Saudi proposal to establish a Turkish military base on its territory
  • The matter is tied to ratification of the trilateral mutual defense agreement, pending parliamentary approval
  • According to the newspaper, Turkey has bases in 12 countries and is considering expanding its presence in Africa and Asia

The proposal and its terms

Saudi Arabia has proposed that Turkey establish a military base on its territory — this was reported by the outlet Zamon.uz, citing the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. According to the newspaper, the matter may be considered after the Turkish parliament ratifies the mutual defense agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The document has already been approved by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee but still needs to be adopted by the parliament as a whole. Hurriyet notes that stationing Turkish troops abroad may require parliamentary authorization and a separate document on establishing the base.

Context: existing presence and expansion plans

The closest example of such a deployment is the Turkish base in Qatar, operating since 2015 under a bilateral agreement; according to open sources, about 3,000 servicemen are stationed there, and the base is used for joint exercises with the Qatari army. In total, according to Hurriyet, Turkey has military bases in 12 countries: the largest is in Northern Cyprus (more than 30,000 servicemen), with the others in Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Libya. The newspaper links a possible agreement with Riyadh to Ankara's new security concept, which envisions expanding its military presence in Africa and Asia on the basis of bilateral treaties, as well as to US plans to reduce its direct military presence in the Middle East in 2027–2028.