Turkey hires Washington lobbyists in bid for return to F-35 program
The Biden administration is giving Turkey the cold shoulder on the S-400 dispute.
Turkey’s government has hired a law firm in Washington to lobby on its behalf as it seeks rapport with the Biden administration amid a continuing dispute over Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system.
A defense company owned by Turkey’s main defense industrial agency signed a contract with the Arnold & Porter law firm to provide “strategic advice and outreach” in a bid to persuade US policymakers to readmit Turkey to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Foreign Lobby Report first reported.
The United States expelled NATO ally Turkey from the F-35 program in 2019 after the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system. The United States insists the S-400’s radar could expose to the Kremlin sensitive details about the F-35’s advanced technology.
Biden administration officials have reiterated the stance put forth by the Trump administration: Turkey cannot obtain the F-35 unless it moves the S-400 out of its country.
