Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered a pistol as a gift to each of his fellow leaders who attended this week’s NATO summit in the capital Ankara, leaders and media outlets reported on July 8.
Following the high-level summit hosted in the Turkish capital on July 7-8, Erdoğan gave each participating head of state and government a high-end ceremonial revolver engraved with the recipient’s name, accompanied by a box of ammunition and a signed authorization letter permitting the weapon to be exported from Türkiye.
The leaders also received a copy of Erdoğan’s English-language biography, accompanied by a personally signed letter.
According to European media reports, the limited-edition revolvers are considered highly valuable ceremonial items and are therefore expected to be transferred to official state collections or displayed in museums rather than retained as the personal property of the recipients.
Speaking to reporters aboard his flight home, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he left the gift in the country’s embassy in Türkiye because importing it into the United Kingdom would violate British firearms regulations, despite receiving a letter from Erdoğan waiving Turkish export restrictions.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also left the firearm in Türkiye. A German government spokesperson told DPA that the pistol was handed over to the German Embassy to facilitate its lawful import into Germany and its registration in the government’s official inventory of state gifts.
Canada’s Foreign Ministry said the revolver presented to the Canadian delegation would be transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, where it would be permanently deactivated to render it inoperable.
Canadian officials added that the gift could later be displayed at an appropriate public institution or museum.
According to Politico, two European Union officials confirmed that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council Antonio Costa also received personalized revolvers.
