Turkey’s President Erdogan gifts NATO leaders guns, live ammunition after summit
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey handed out gift packs of guns and live bullets to member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on Thursday, stirring a ruckus among world leaders.
Most leaders, including Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, only discovered the revolver after landing in his home country.
He said airport police secured the gun.
The gun was accompanied by six live rounds and the Turkish flag to showcase the country’s latest breakthrough in weaponry.
It also had an export waiver that authorised its cross-border transfer.
The guns carried an inscription that read “Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country.”
The inscription, engraved with each recipient’s name, was written in both Turkish and English.
“The prime minister was surprised and immediately handed it over to airport police so it could be placed in a secure safe and the matter was handled in accordance with relevant procedures,” an official said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was gifted 500 rounds of ammunition alongside a gun cleaning kit, Reuters cited a Downing Street source as saying.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will donate her present to the military museum, a move the leader of Greece said she will replicate.
Canadian leader, Mark Carney, travelled with the revolver but left its ammunition in Ankara.
He said the gift might be kept at the war museum. He also joked that his gift of maple syrup couldn’t compare with the revolver.
“It struck me that my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched. I would like to reassure Canadians – they keep guns away from me,” Mr Carney said.
The Small Arms Survey based in Geneva, ranked Turkey as the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, noting the country pocketed $3 billion in export sales of weapons.
It added that Turkey trailed behind the U.S. and Italy in exports.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
Kano architects demand strict enforcement of building regulations
Disturbed by recurring cases of building collapses, the Kano State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects has called for strict enforcement of building regulations.
States
Flooding: NEMA, KADSEMA search for missing persons in Kaduna River
NEMA and KADSEMA have launched a search-and-rescue operation for two persons swept away by floodwaters in the Kaduna River.
States
Police rescue 15 cows, one Katsina resident from bandits
The police command in Katsina says it has foiled kidnap and cattle rustling attempts in Funtua and Musawa council areas, rescuing one kidnap victim and recovering 15 rustled cows.
Agriculture
Farmers seek subsidised farm inputs to boost food production in Taraba
The farmers said the high cost and limited availability of fertilisers and other essential farm inputs had become major constraints as the rainy season commenced.
Politics
Kaduna: 12,000 people defect to APC in Lere LG
Twelve thousand members of opposition political parties have defected to the All Progressives Congress in the Lere council area of Kaduna.
Anti-Corruption
LS Cable & System USA agrees to pay $4 million to resolve PPP loan fraud allegations
LS Cable & System USA has agreed to pay $4 million to the United States to resolve allegations of false claims for payments under the Paycheck Protection Programme loans.
