A former US ambassador to Turkey once informally observed that the country “lacks the PR gene." The controversy swirling around former national security adviser Michael Flynn over his ties to a Turkish businessman who clearly hired him to lobby on Turkey’s behalf is a further example of how inept Turkey is at promoting itself.
The retired general conceded in a filing with the Justice Department that a $500,000+ deal he signed with Turkish entrepreneur Ekim Alptekin prior to taking office “could be construed to have principally benefitted the Republic of Turkey.” By all accounts, it did not benefit Turkey at all.