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.”
Ibadan
Kidnapped Oyo schoolchildren, teachers regain freedom after about two months in captivity
The release of the victims followed a series of sustained protests over the prolonged captivity of the victims.
Agriculture
Plateau govt. procures 500 truckloads of fertiliser for sale at subsidised rate
The governor directed that fertiliser be sold to farmers at a subsidised rate of N20,000 per bag.
Economy
Court clears FCCPC to investigate air ticket pricing complaints
Mr Bello said investigating consumer complaints was fundamentally different from regulating prices.
States
National Cash Transfer: 1,908 vulnerable residents receive debit cards in Edo
The initiative is in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the World Bank, and the National Cash Transfer Office.
Africa
Rwanda spent $32 million on fuel subsidies in four months: Minister
He said the subsidies were to shield consumers and businesses from surging oil prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
Heading 3
FG to integrate 80 million Nigerian students into NIMC database
He said the ministry had integrated the National Learners’ Identification Number (LIN) with the NIN through the Nigeria Education Management Information System (NEMIS).
