Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan believes a potential change in the US administration after November’s election may be positive for Turkey’s growing defense industry, Reuters reported, citing his remarks from Turkish media on Sunday.
“We think that the US 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 favor,” he was quoted by the state-run TRT as telling reporters on a return flight from northern Cyprus.
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. Erdoğan was also quoted as saying that Western countries are placing orders for Turkish armed drones, though he did not name them.
Former Republican president Donald Trump was leading incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden in some polls ahead of the November US general when Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on Sunday.
While Erdoğan was said to have had good personal ties with Trump during his presidential term, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkey’s defense procurement body in 2020 over Ankara’s earlier purchase of Russian air defenses.