October 8, 2019

Trump's Turkey ties

Trump Towers, Şişli - residental tower.jpgWikipedia Trump Towers Istanbul are two conjoined towers in Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey. One of the towers is an office tower, and the other a residential tower, consisting of over 200 residences.The complex also holds a shopping mall with some 80 shops and a multiplex cinema. They are the first Trump Towers built in Europe. The property developer is Turkish billionaire Aydin Dogan, in a license-partnership with American businessman and current United States President Donald Trump. The complex is considered to be one of the most prominent in Istanbul.Many businesses based in Europe and the Middle East occupy the complex. The residential tower includes the only collective wine cellar in Turkey, with a capacity of 16,800 bottles. The cellar is built by Focus Wine Cellars.[2]

The Turkish owner of Trump Towers Istanbul, who pays Trump for the use of his name, was reported in December 2015 to be exploring legal means to dissociate the property after the candidate's call to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. [4] In June 2016, Turkish President Erdogan has been reported to call for the removal of the Trump name from the towers, saying "Trump has no tolerance for Muslims living in the US. And on top of that they used a brand in Istanbul with his name. The ones who put that brand on their building should immediately remove it."

In December 2015, Trump stated in a radio interview that he had a "conflict of interest" in dealing with Turkey because of his property, saying "I have a little conflict of interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul ... It’s called Trump Towers. Two towers, instead of one. Not the usual one, it’s two. And I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well."

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