The Ministry of National Defence said claims that foreign elements within the dissolved SDG would leave Syria and that some of them would move toward Türkiye were untrue.
The ministry said it was closely monitoring the SDG dissolution process within the framework of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and strengthening the principle of one state and one army. The statement urged the public not to rely on reports circulating on the issue except for official statements.
The SDG dissolution process
SDG leader Mazloum Abdi announced at a press conference held at the People’s Palace in Damascus on August 25 that the organization had been dissolved and would be fully integrated into Syrian state institutions.
General secretariat to be established for the Mecca Defense Alliance
The ministry said the defence and foreign ministers and chiefs of general staff of Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia met in Istanbul on August 31, 2026. The meeting discussed steps to make cooperation under the alliance more institutionalized.
The meeting decided to establish a general secretariat in Saudi Arabia to carry out the alliance’s secretarial duties. Representatives of the three countries will serve as secretary-general on a rotating basis; during the first term, the position will be held by a secretary-general from Pakistan for three years.
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on August 7.