TIRANA, Albania — European leaders may do plenty of childish name-calling, and they may sometimes give a time-out, but that doesn’t make coming face-to-face with an AI-generated baby version of yourself any less weird.
That’s what happened Friday, when the more than 40 leaders gathered at the opening ceremony of the European Political Community in Tirana, Albania, were greeted by a short film that showed each of them as a baby saying “Welcome to Albania” in their native language.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was caught on camera laughing heartily, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen smiled and looked incredulously at the screen.
Some, however, were less amused. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stayed stony throughout the film, but let a slight smile slip when his version came up, a small baby with a mustache.
During a speech after the film, Meloni thanked Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama for the video and for “making me feel very young again,” she said.
The video could very well have been the brainchild of Rama, who has developed a reputation as a quirky figure. He was formerly a painter living in France and is known for his playful character.
Earlier in the day, Rama — who was comfortably reelected this week — welcomed visiting leaders with trademark sneakers and fell to his knees in mock rapture when Meloni arrived.
The topics on the table in Tirana, however, are far from amusing. European leaders, a majority of them Ukraine supporters, are hoping to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin with new sanctions as talks between Kyiv and Moscow begin in Istanbul.
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