From July 7th to 8th local time, the 2026 NATO summit was held in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. According to AFP, after the summit, British Prime Minister Sturgeon revealed in a private meeting that Turkish President Erdogan gave each leader attending the summit a pistol as a farewell gift. This "farewell gift" surprised him greatly.
Stamer said that each leader attending the NATO summit was given a revolver and a box of bullets, with the name of the corresponding leader engraved on the revolver. Erdogan also presented a memorandum signed by him personally, waiving Turkey’s export controls on those weapons for each leader.
Stummer said it was surprising that Erdogan chose a revolver as a "farewell gift".
On July 8th local time, Turkish President Erdogan attended the NATO summit.
However, Stamer added that due to strict regulations on the import and private possession of pistols in the UK, he did not bring his pistol onto the plane. Instead, it was entrusted to British officials in Turkey. The BBC reported that the pistol given to Stamer would be processed in Turkey, where its ability to fire live ammunition would be removed, and then it would be sent back to the UK.
According to the European edition of 'Politicians News Network', some European leaders, including Dutch Prime Minister Rob Yeerten, have also stated that they will keep their firearms in Turkey and bring them back to their home countries after carrying out similar procedures.
In addition, two EU officials confirmed that European Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Costa also received pistols and bullets as gifts from Erdogan. However, one of the officials stated that such high-end ceremonial pistols might violate EU restrictions on the value of gifts, and it is unlikely that they would be kept by the person receiving the gift.
