Fidan: Mecca pact secretary-general to be chosen within 2 weeks, Pakistan nominates; Turkish presence in Bashiqa to shrink gradually as Iraq disarms

According to an AA report published by CNN Türk at 21:19 on 26 September, Fidan said the foreign ministers of the 3 members of the Mecca defence agreement had met in New York, that institutionalisation work was continuing and that the secretary-general would be chosen within 2 weeks. According to the AA text carried by Foreks, the candidate nominated by Pakistan is expected to be accepted by the member countries. The agreement's chiefs of general staff met in Riyadh on 25 September, and no joint military response was announced at the end of that meeting.

On Bashiqa, Fidan said the base was opened in 2015 at Iraq's invitation and for counter-terrorism purposes, and that Türkiye would gradually reduce and end its presence there as Iraq's roadmap for disarming armed groups is implemented. According to a Haberler.com report dated 22:11 on 26 September, Fidan stated that 'certain steps will definitely' be taken once the organisation's presence in Sinjar ends. This statement ties the joint declaration signed on 23 September between Erdoğan and the Iraqi Prime Minister, which envisages the gradual handover of Bashiqa-Zilkan, to an explicit condition at ministerial level for the first time; the timetable for the handover and the number of troops in Bashiqa were not disclosed and could not be verified.

At the same press conference Fidan said the package Iran had put forward on Hormuz had not yet produced concrete results; US President Trump rejected this 7-day plan on 26 September. The Iraqi Prime Minister's name appears differently in the sources: the sources in our 23 September record use the name Ali al-Zaidi, while Haberler.com gives a different name in its 26 September report; this contradiction could not be verified.