Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave other leaders at the NATO summit a gift of a pistol and ammunition, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday.
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Keir Starmer, speaking to British journalists on his plane back from Ankara, explained that the Turkish president had given each leader a pistol engraved with his name, accompanied by a box of ammunition.
Mr. Erdogan also attached a note exempting the weapons from export controls.
But the prime minister said he had to leave the gun in Türkiye because bringing it into the UK would have been illegal.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sign a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at the Bestepe presidential complex in Ankara, July 8, 2026.
AFP
This NATO summit was the last major international meeting of its kind for the British Prime Minister, who announced his resignation from Downing Street on June 22.
He remains in office until a successor is appointed within the Labor Party, probably the former mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham.
A little earlier, he considered that this summit had been “fruitful”. “We have achieved our goal, which is unity,” he said on the channel Sky News.
In their final declaration, all Alliance countries reaffirmed their “unwavering” commitment to NATO’s mutual assistance clause, enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the cornerstone of the organization.
And on Ukraine, they also reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for this country at war with Russia.
But during the summit, American President Donald Trump first castigated his European allies, whom he accused in particular of not having supported the United States in the conflict against Iran.
Keir Starmer, who was again the subject of criticism from the American president in Ankara, claimed to have “always maintained good relations” with him. “We will stay in touch,” he assured.
