Erdogan’s revolver gifts leave NATO leaders in a bind

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s choice of farewell gift for NATO leaders has left several recipients facing an unusual mix of customs, security and legal questions after returning home from the alliance’s summit in Ankara.

Each leader received a personalised vintage revolver accompanied by live ammunition, a gesture designed to highlight Turkey’s growing defence industry and its role as both an export sector and a tool of foreign policy.

Images released by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda’s office showed what appeared to be a Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shot revolver manufactured by Turkish state-owned arms producer MKE during the 1990s.

The firearm was presented in a wooden display case bearing the Turkish flag and NATO emblem. A plaque identified it in Turkish and English as the first revolver-type handgun produced in Turkey.

Personalised gifts create security complications

A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that the leaders had received the same model, with each revolver engraved with the recipient’s name.

For several delegations, however, transporting and storing the gifts proved more complicated than accepting them.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver to airport police in Brussels, where it was secured in a safe after his return.

An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his weapon remained at Warsaw Airport awaiting customs clearance. It would later be stored in an appropriate place to ensure both security and proper treatment as an official gift.

The Dutch and Swedish prime ministers’ offices reported that their revolvers had been transferred to their respective embassies in Ankara. The Dutch firearm was due to be permanently disabled, while Sweden’s awaited the necessary import documentation.

Starmer’s package included 500 rounds

The gift presented to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer came with a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition, according to a Downing Street source.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s revolver was placed in storage at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian government, alongside other official state gifts.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen planned to donate her revolver to a military museum, while the Greek leader intended to send his to the War Museum in Athens.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joked that his own diplomatic gift of maple syrup appeared modest by comparison. He added that he had not personally handled the pistol and reassured Canadians that it had been deactivated. It could eventually be placed in Canada’s national war museum.

Rare model highlights Turkey’s arms industry

The Gumusay stands apart from the semi-automatic pistols that dominate Turkey’s modern handgun industry, giving the older model added appeal as a collector’s item.

Turkey’s manufacturers have expanded rapidly in Europe’s civilian firearms market, offering lower-cost pistols and shotguns that compete with established Italian and Belgian brands traditionally associated with more expensive sporting and service weapons.

Figures cited by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey ranked Turkey as the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024.

Its exports were valued at about US$3 billion over that period, placing the country behind only the United States and Italy.