Erdogan's souvenir pistol gifts surprise leaders

A souvenir pistol gifted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to leaders at a NATO summit in Ankara has caused a stir, with differing reactions from attendees.

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The gesture by Erdogan at the Ankara NATO summit, a loaded revolver, engraved with his name, handed to each leader present, is not diplomatic folklore. It is the plastic image of a NATO that claims to guarantee peace and yet distributes firearms like gadgets among heads of state.

British leader Keir Starmer reportedly left the engraved revolver in Turkey, citing his country's laws that prohibit him from bringing such weapons home. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's gift will be secured and donated to a military museum, according to a spokesperson who confirmed she thanked Erdogan for the present. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's handling of the gift remains unclear, with no official statement from her government.

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The British leader Starmer had at least the institutional dignity to admit the embarrassment, leaving the weapon in Turkey because his country's law does not allow him to take it home.

Angelo Bonelli, an Italian politician, criticized the gesture, describing the loaded revolvers handed out as "gadgets" to heads of state. He contrasted Starmer's "institutional dignity" in leaving the weapon with the Italian government's "total silence" on the matter. Bonelli linked this silence to Meloni's foreign policy and rearmament choices, including a commitment to increase military spending to 5% of GDP. He argued this would divert significant resources from social services and environmental initiatives towards an arms race that fuels tension and profits the military industry.

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The same silence that accompanies the Meloni government's choices on foreign policy and rearmament: adherence to Trump's blackmail of 5% of GDP, increased military spending, no real parliamentary debate on the country's strategic priorities.