Turkey continues to expand its military and geopolitical footprint across the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and South Asia, while Greece intensifies its strategic engagement with India in an effort to secure a key partner in trade, defence procurement, and military cooperation.
As Athens invests diplomatically and strategically in New Delhi, Ankara accelerates its regional ambitions by building a broad network of alliances that significantly amplifies its influence. From Libya and Syria to Azerbaijan and Pakistan, and from the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey has forged ties that reinforce President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s narrative of the “Century of Turkey.”
The latest development in this expanding alliance network involves a potential defence pact between Turkey and two major powers of the Islamic world: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. If finalised, such an agreement would place Turkey in direct opposition to India, which remains in a state of ongoing conflict with Pakistan. The two rivals last clashed militarily in the spring, sustaining heavy losses on both sides.
Pakistan’s Minister for Defence Production confirmed the advanced stage of talks in comments to Reuters late last week. “The trilateral agreement has already entered the pipeline. The draft is available to us, as well as to the other two countries,” he said, noting that discussions have been underway for ten months. On the same day, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed the talks from Istanbul but stressed that the parties had not yet signed the agreement, stating that partners “must be sure of one another.” He added that all regional countries should establish a platform for cooperation on security issues.
At the same time, international media reports point to highly ambitious plans by Erdoğan’s inner circle in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. These plans reportedly include transforming the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus into a vast, technologically advanced military base, with its core centred on the Lefkoniko airport in the occupied region of Famagusta.
In Syria, Ankara has reportedly turned its attention to the historic city of Palmyra and its airport, located in the desert at the country’s centre. Both developments raise serious concerns in Israel, which remains locked in a fierce rivalry with Turkey over competing spheres of influence in the region.
According to some experts, this confrontation could escalate into armed conflict, while already exerting a decisive impact on geopolitical, military, economic, and energy balances in this strategically sensitive part of the world.
Turkey already maintains military forces and defence agreements with several other countries. Its rapidly expanding domestic defence industry continues to play a critical role in strengthening Ankara’s leverage, enabling it to unlock strategic partnerships that once appeared firmly out of reach.
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