Lithuania's President Returns from Turkey with a Pistol: A Gift from Erdogan
"Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda returned to Lithuania from the NATO summit in Ankara with an unusual gift – a pistol. The weapon was presented to him by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"This gift, like many others the president receives, will be presented at the presidential palace," presidential adviser Frederikas Jansonas told Delfi.
The leaders of other NATO countries also returned from Ankara with similar gifts. International media reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also received pistols."
What's funny is that Lithuania became the only country which took the gift home AND decided to display it in the Presidential Palace - where, on certain occasions and holidays, people can go to excursions and admire the exhibits, including the gifts. Poland, as far as I know, decided to hide it in governmental storage.
Considering that countries like Netherlands, UK and Germany refused to take the guns at all, handling them to their embassies in Turkey, the Lithuanian President's gesture displays an interesting symbolism: that Lithuania is not predisposed to biases, is not afraid or ashamed of trustworthy alliances, especially military.
