Yasar Guler
Turkey's defence minister since 2023 and chief of the Turkish General Staff 2018-23.
Yasar Guler, Turkey's defence minister, travelled to Riyadh with the Turkish delegation on 5 October 2026 for the first activation of the Mecca defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Yasar Guler
Attended the Riyadh pact meeting
Iran Conflict 2026: Saudis, Turks and Pakistanis invoke pactBackground
Yasar Guler has been Turkey's Minister of National Defence since 4 June 2023. Born in Ardahan in 1954, he rose to the Army's top post: he commanded the Gendarmerie in 2016-17 and the Land Forces in 2017-18, then served as Chief of the Turkish General Staff from 2018 to 2023.
In Riyadh he sat with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, the chief of the General Staff. The agreed statement has Turkey earmark troops able to move quickly to Saudi Arabia, in line with Turkish law; no size, date or task was fixed.
Turkey's Parliament has yet to ratify the pact, and Erdogan said on 12 October it would go before the chamber within days. On 8 October Fidan said Turkish soldiers would not enter another country's territory to attack it.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.