[Guardian] Nato leaders surprised by Turkish president’s gift of guns after summit. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented engraved revolvers – with bullets – to his guests in Ankara, causing security concerns| A photo of the thing can be seen at the link. |
Keir Starmer was the first to mention the highly unusual gift presented by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his guests. On the flight back from Ankara, where Nato leaders had gathered for two days, the British prime minister said he and others had received a revolver engraved with their names.
Alongside the gun sitting in a red box lined in black were six live rounds and a note exempting the weapons from export controls.
It was a surprising gift to say the least, several officials from the different alliance member states said, and gave rise to some “insane” scenes among the various delegations’ security teams.
“An unusual gift from president Erdoğan at the Nato summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name,” the Hungarian prime minister, Péter Magyar, said on X.
Beyond the logistical challenge, the gift also puzzled several delegations attending the summit, which focused on Ukraine, Iran, and relations with the US president, Donald Trump.
The question asked over and over again: why such a gift? While it is very common for heads of state to exchange various gifts during meetings or summits, such exchanges rarely require these kinds of precautions.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond.