Erdogan gifts engraved revolvers, ammo to Nato leaders after summit
Belgium's prime minister returned from the NATO summit in Turkey and found a handgun and ammunition in his luggage. The surprise discovery has turned a summit gift into an awkward security and diplomatic talking point.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented NATO leaders with engraved vintage revolvers, live ammunition and cleaning kits as farewell gifts after the alliance’s summit in Ankara, prompting several governments to arrange special security, customs and storage measures before the firearms could be taken home.
The unusual gifts, intended to highlight Turkey’s growing defence industry, were given to heads of government and senior European Union officials attending the summit.
Images released by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausda showed the firearm as a Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare revolver manufactured by Turkish state-owned arms producer MKE in the 1990s.
The revolver was displayed in a wooden presentation case bearing the Turkish flag, the NATO emblem and a plaque describing it as the first revolver-type handgun produced in Turkey.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez’s office said every leader received the same model, engraved with their own name.
The gift immediately created logistical and legal challenges for several delegations because the firearms were accompanied by live ammunition, indicating they were functional rather than purely ceremonial.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed over his revolver to airport police in Brussels for secure storage after returning from the summit.
In Poland, an aide to President Karol Nawrocki said the firearm was awaiting customs clearance at Warsaw Airport before being placed in secure storage.
The aide stressed that the revolver would be kept safely and treated as a state gift, adding that it would not be used.
The Dutch and Swedish governments said their revolvers had been taken to their respective embassies in Ankara. Dutch authorities planned to have the firearm permanently disabled before transporting it home, while Sweden said it was completing the necessary import procedures.
A Downing Street source said the revolver presented to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was accompanied by a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition.
Earlier, British officials indicated the firearm would remain in Turkey until it was decommissioned before being transported to the UK.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said her revolver had already been placed in secure storage at Palazzo Chigi alongside other official state gifts received by the government.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa also received the engraved firearms from Erdogan.
EU officials confirmed that Costa’s security team had taken possession of the weapon for inspection before it is transported to Belgium and stored under the security rules governing the Council.
A spokesperson for von der Leyen said she thanked Erdogan for the gift and that the firearm would be securely transported, decommissioned and later donated to a military museum.
Officials noted that the high-value ceremonial firearms are unlikely to remain the personal property of the recipients because of strict rules governing gifts accepted by public office holders.
Turkey has increasingly used its defence industry as an instrument of diplomacy and exports.
Although the country’s firearms sector now mainly produces semi-automatic pistols, the Gumusay revolver is regarded as a rare collector’s item.
Turkish manufacturers have expanded their presence in Europe’s civilian firearms market with competitively priced pistols and shotguns.
According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Turkey ranked as the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, with exports worth about USD 3 billion during the period, behind only the US and Italy.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented NATO leaders with engraved vintage revolvers, live ammunition and cleaning kits as farewell gifts after the alliance’s summit in Ankara, prompting several governments to arrange special security, customs and storage measures before the firearms could be taken home.
The unusual gifts, intended to highlight Turkey’s growing defence industry, were given to heads of government and senior European Union officials attending the summit.
Images released by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausda showed the firearm as a Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare revolver manufactured by Turkish state-owned arms producer MKE in the 1990s.
The revolver was displayed in a wooden presentation case bearing the Turkish flag, the NATO emblem and a plaque describing it as the first revolver-type handgun produced in Turkey.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez’s office said every leader received the same model, engraved with their own name.
The gift immediately created logistical and legal challenges for several delegations because the firearms were accompanied by live ammunition, indicating they were functional rather than purely ceremonial.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed over his revolver to airport police in Brussels for secure storage after returning from the summit.
In Poland, an aide to President Karol Nawrocki said the firearm was awaiting customs clearance at Warsaw Airport before being placed in secure storage.
The aide stressed that the revolver would be kept safely and treated as a state gift, adding that it would not be used.
The Dutch and Swedish governments said their revolvers had been taken to their respective embassies in Ankara. Dutch authorities planned to have the firearm permanently disabled before transporting it home, while Sweden said it was completing the necessary import procedures.
A Downing Street source said the revolver presented to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was accompanied by a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition.
Earlier, British officials indicated the firearm would remain in Turkey until it was decommissioned before being transported to the UK.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said her revolver had already been placed in secure storage at Palazzo Chigi alongside other official state gifts received by the government.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa also received the engraved firearms from Erdogan.
EU officials confirmed that Costa’s security team had taken possession of the weapon for inspection before it is transported to Belgium and stored under the security rules governing the Council.
A spokesperson for von der Leyen said she thanked Erdogan for the gift and that the firearm would be securely transported, decommissioned and later donated to a military museum.
Officials noted that the high-value ceremonial firearms are unlikely to remain the personal property of the recipients because of strict rules governing gifts accepted by public office holders.
Turkey has increasingly used its defence industry as an instrument of diplomacy and exports.
Although the country’s firearms sector now mainly produces semi-automatic pistols, the Gumusay revolver is regarded as a rare collector’s item.
Turkish manufacturers have expanded their presence in Europe’s civilian firearms market with competitively priced pistols and shotguns.
According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Turkey ranked as the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, with exports worth about USD 3 billion during the period, behind only the US and Italy.
