Mecca Pact: New Power Triangle Emerges
A new power equation is quietly taking shape in West Asia, and at the heart of it is a relationship nobody expected to see this close, this fast. Riyadh and Ankara. For over a decade, these two capitals sat on opposite sides of nearly every regional fault line. Turkey backed the Muslim Brotherhood; an organisation Saudi Arabia treated as an existential threat to its monarchy. They split over Qatar during the Gulf blockade. And yet, that history is exactly what makes what's happening now so significant. Riyadh and Ankara haven't just patched things up. They've signed a defence pact, bringing Pakistan in alongside them. So, what does it take to override a decade of suspicion? What changed in Riyadh, in Ankara, or in the region around them that made this alliance not just possible, but necessary? This week's special Faultlines edition takes a closer look at how two old rivals became defence partners and what that shift signals for the region.
