The report quoting news agency SPA said armed forces from some 20 countries, including Pakistan, are gathering in northern Saudi Arabia for “the most important” military manoeuvre ever staged in the region.
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The drills are taking place as Turkey and Saudi Arabia also conduct joint air defence exercises which began on Monday in Turkey’s Konya region, according to the Turkish military.
The announcement comes two months after Saudi Arabia announced it will form a coalition of 34 nations to fight terrorism.
Asked if Saudi Arabia could send troops to the Turkish border to enter Syria, Cavusoglu said: “This is something that could be desired but there is no plan”. On Sunday, he told a press conference in Riyadh that previous efforts to prop up Assad by Iran had failed.
Saudi Arabia intercepted a Scud missile fired towards the kingdom by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting the insurgents has said.
IRAN weighed into the rapidly escalating conflict in Syria yesterday, offering to defend its air space against threatened Turkish and Saudi aggression.
Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad are backed by two nations, Russian Federation and Iran, and many Shiite militias from across the region who are organized by Iran.
The “disarray” has spurred Saudi to action, the diplomat said, adding that Riyadh wanting to both counter Islamic State militants and Iranian influence in the country.
“With regards to timing of the mission or size of troops, this has yet to be worked out”, he added.
Saudi Arabia took its first step in preparing an invasion of Syria by moving ground forces and fighter aircraft to Turkey’s Incirlik base.
Turkey is also considering sending in ground troops, the Saudi diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
He stressed that Saudi had made its decision in coordination with the coalition and said that a ground operation was being planned.
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But the Kurds are sometimes aligned with the Syrian government and seen as a threat by Turkey, which has fought for years against a Kurdish separatist movement threatening its territorial sovereignty. The exercises would involve ground, naval and air forces personnel.
