Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan defended the newly established Mecca Agreement against critics during a panel in New York, on September 21, rejecting claims that the defence pact failed following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Addressing former US Ambassador James Jeffrey, Fidan noted that NATO’s Article 5 had been invoked "only once" in 50 years, yet NATO is never dismissed as a "paper tiger." He argued it is unfair to judge a new alliance on a complex, decade-long crisis, emphasising, "We have only just begun"