Erdogan gifts pistols to NATO leaders; Meloni brings hers to Italy, Starmer leaves his in Turkey

At the conclusion of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented each attending leader with a pistol engraved with their name, accompanied by a box of ammunition. This gesture, seemingly a literal interpretation of the summit's focus on increased military spending, has drawn varied reactions and handling procedures from the recipients.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking to journalists on his flight back to London, revealed that Erdogan had included a note exempting the weapons from Turkish export customs controls. However, Starmer chose to leave the pistol in Turkey, stating that bringing it into the United Kingdom would be illegal. This marked Starmer's final international engagement as Prime Minister following his resignation announcement on June 22.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, however, brought her gifted pistol back to Italy. According to Italian government sources, the weapon was received by personnel authorized to handle firearms. Upon their return to Italy, procedures were initiated to declare possession of the firearm. The pistol was subsequently registered at Palazzo Chigi, following the standard protocol for all gifts received by the Prime Minister, and is now under the Presidency's custody, cataloged like any other tribute. The document provided by Erdogan facilitated the weapon's transport out of Turkey.

Angelo Bonelli of Avs criticized Erdogan's gesture, calling the gift of a loaded, engraved revolver to heads of state "not diplomatic folklore." He stated it was "the plastic image of a NATO that claims to guarantee peace and meanwhile distributes firearms as gadgets among heads of state." Bonelli contrasted this with Starmer's "institutional dignity" in admitting embarrassment and leaving the weapon in Turkey due to legal restrictions.

“

Secondo quanto riferiscono fonti governative, l'operazione si è svolta seguendo le procedure previste: la pistola è stata presa in carico da personale autorizzato a maneggiare armi e, una volta rientrati in Italia, sono state avviate le procedure per denunciarne il possesso.