New York, 22 September, 2026 (Nosheen): Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has responded to criticism of the newly established Makkah Defence Pact, saying it is unfair to judge the alliance based on the long-running crisis in Yemen because “we have only just started.” Speaking at a panel discussion in New York titled “Türkiye-US Relations in the Centennial Era,” Fidan was asked whether Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia represented the pact’s first test and how the alliance had performed. Referring to former US Ambassador to Türkiye James Jeffrey, Fidan asked how long he had served in the military, to which Jeffrey replied that it had been nearly 50 years. Fidan then asked how many times NATO’s Article 5 had been activated during that period, prompting the response that it had been invoked only once. Fidan said it was therefore unfair to criticize a newly established defence alliance by pointing to Yemen’s decade-long crisis and claiming that it was not working. He said the Makkah Defence Pact aims to strengthen mutual cooperation among regional countries while respecting each other’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Fidan said Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have a roadmap for the pact and that once it is institutionalized, the door would remain open for other countries to join. He added that the pact had been under consideration for the past five to six years and that it had taken time to secure agreement among the countries concerned. Fidan said the countries of the region had increasingly recognized the importance of regional cooperation and solidarity.