After the NATO summit held in the Turkish capital Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented a "special" gift to the attending leaders: a .357 Magnum revolver engraved with the recipient's name, along with a box of ammunition.
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported on the 10th that this gift not only surprised delegations and security personnel from many countries, but also posed a series of challenges related to customs clearance and storage. Some leaders were forced to refuse the gift due to their countries' strict gun laws.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was the first to disclose this unique gift. The gun was enclosed in a wooden box, which included 6 live bullets and a document explaining the procedures for customs clearance and exemption from export controls. However, he also stated that due to Britain’s strict restrictions on the import and private possession of pistols, he did not bring the gun onto the plane but instead had it kept by British officials in Turkey. According to the BBC, this gun will be processed in Turkey, where its live ammunition will be removed before it is sent back to Britain.
ABC News reports that German Chancellor Merz and other European leaders plan to leave their handguns in Turkey after they are processed and then brought back home.
The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph also reported that Belgian Prime Minister De Vlaeminck assumed the gift would be similar to previous ones, and it was not until he returned to Brussels that he remembered this matter. When he opened the "good gift bag" given by Turkey at the airport, he was quite shocked, and the entire delegation gathered around to watch this gun.
Belgian government spokesman said: "The Prime Minister was quite surprised and immediately handed the pistol over to the airport police for storage. The pistol will be handled according to relevant procedures."
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's aide emphasized that 'first, safety will be ensured, and second, respect will be shown for this gift,' and clearly stated that no one would use it to fire.
Canadian Prime Minister Canning joked that the specialty product he received in return, maple syrup, was “far inferior” compared to Turkey’s gift. He did not see the pistol himself; the weapon had been rendered unusable.
"I want to assure Canadian citizens that they will not allow me to come into contact with firearms." He said.
According to an official, in Italy, this gun has been registered as a gift and is stored at Prime Minister Meloni's residence.
The Netherlands and Sweden have stated that the pistols received by their leaders have been sent to their embassies in Ankara. The Netherlands plans to render the pistols invalid, while Sweden is still processing the import procedures. Greece plans to send them to the Athens War Museum for collection.
Additionally, two EU officials confirmed that European Commission President Barroso and European Council President Costa received the same gift.
However, one of them stated that such a high-end ceremonial pistol might violate EU regulations regarding the value of gifts, and it is unlikely to be kept by the person receiving the gift. A spokesman for von der Leyen said that the weapon will be donated to a military museum.
Previous NATO summits featured more traditional gifts. At the NATO summit held in Warsaw, Poland in 2016, the official gifts included Polish-style honey vodka, local chocolates, and custom-stamped stamps. At the summit held in Newport, Wales, UK in 2014, the gifts were woolen socks, single malt whisky, and waffle cakes.
The Turkish Anadolu Agency reports that participants in the summit received a more traditional gift – Erdoğan's biography.
Erdogan’s office has yet to comment on this “special” gift. Turkish media reports indicate that the revolvers were old-fashioned six-shot models produced by the Turkish state-owned arms manufacturer MKE in the 1990s. Given the deep-rooted gun culture in Turkey, this gift has caused almost no stir in the country.
Reuters analysis suggests that Erdogan's move is intended to demonstrate Turkey's growing military industrial strength. In recent years, the military industry has become an important export sector and diplomatic tool for Turkey. Although Turkey's modern firearms production mainly focuses on semi-automatic pistols, the handgun given as a gift has certain collectible value due to its limited production.
