ISTANBUL (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan believes a potential change in the U.S. administration after November’s election may be positive for Turkey’s growing defence industry, he was quoted as saying by Turkish media on Sunday.
KEY QUOTE
“We think that the U.S. elections will have a determining role in this. We will see separately what kinds of steps can be taken with the election results, but I think that the needle is turning in Turkey’s favour,” he was quoted by state-run TRT as telling reporters on a return flight from northern Cyprus.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Stung by past arms-related sanctions by the United States and other NATO allies, Turkey has pushed to develop its own sector including building drones, naval ships and aircraft. Erdogan was also quoted as saying that Western countries are placing orders for Turkish armed drones, though he did not name them.
CONTEXT
Republican former president Donald Trump is leading incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden in some polls ahead of November U.S. presidential elections. While Erdogan was said to have had good personal ties with Trump during his presidential term, the Trump Administration imposed sanctions on Turkey’s defence procurement body in 2020 over Ankara’s earlier purchase of Russian air defences.
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Azra Ceylan; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
