Levent Gumrukcu
Turkish deputy foreign minister since February 2025; previously Turkey's ambassador to NATO.
On 27 October 2026 Levent Gumrukcu, a Turkish deputy foreign minister, told MPs weighing the Mecca defence pact that no deployment is envisaged under it at present. The committee then approved ratification.
Last refreshed: 29 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will Turkey send troops to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca pact?
Timeline for Levent Gumrukcu
Told the committee no deployment is envisaged at present
Iran Conflict 2026: Turkish MPs back Mecca pact in committeeBackground
Levent Gumrukcu is a Turkish career diplomat who joined the foreign service in 1991. He served at the embassy in Tehran in the late 1990s, and later as the ministry's spokesman and as ambassador to Belgium and to Georgia.
From 2023 he was Turkey's permanent representative to NATO. He became one of the country's deputy foreign ministers on 1 February 2025, a post in which he speaks for the ministry before Parliament.
His committee statement on the Mecca pact sat awkwardly beside the governing party's line. Gumrukcu said no deployment was planned for now, while an AKP official said a motion to post air-defence and electronic-warfare personnel to Saudi Arabia would follow ratification.
Who is Levent Gumrukcu?
What did Turkey say about deploying troops under the Mecca pact?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 29 October 2026. Editorial standards.