Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al Shaibani said that his country has not deployed troops to Yemen and has no immediate plans to do so, stressing that a military cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia does not include sending Syrian forces to the war-torn country.
Speaking at a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi at Tishreen Palace in Damascus on Monday, Shaibani said any Syrian military deployment abroad would be publicly announced rather than carried out secretly.
“There is no deployment of Syrian forces in Yemen, nor are there any plans to do so in the near future,” he said.
Shaibani also reaffirmed Syria's support for Yemen's internationally recognised government and condemned threats by the Houthi militia group against Saudi Arabia.
He expressed hope that Yemen will regain stability and that the suffering of its people would end, as Syria seeks to recover from years of conflict.
The minister stressed that Damascus remains focused on reconstruction, facilitating the return of refugees and rebuilding infrastructure destroyed during the civil war.
Training, expertise-sharing and military talks
On Saturday, a Syrian diplomatic source told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that military agreements with Saudi Arabia are limited to training, exchanging expertise and military consultations, dismissing reports of Syrian troop deployments to Yemen.
The source said Saudi coordination visits to Syria will begin in December, adding that military cooperation “could eventually lead to a mutual defence agreement or to Syria joining the Mecca Defence Alliance, depending on shared interests.”
The Mecca Defence Alliance comprises Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
On November 4, Syria’s foreign ministry announced that Damascus and Riyadh signed a military cooperation agreement during Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa’s visit to the Saudi capital, where he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On October 5, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan held an emergency meeting in Riyadh to discuss threats facing the kingdom and announced the appointment of the alliance’s first secretary-general, according to a joint statement.
