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Erdogan’s NATO revolver gift
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan handed NATO leaders a personalized revolver with six live rounds after the annual NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, July 7, with the guns in red cases lined in black and accompanied by a note exempting the weapons from export controls.
“In short: World leaders have been given vintage revolvers by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as a thanks for attending this week's NATO summit in Ankara”
The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the first to mention the gift on Wednesday evening, saying Erdogan offered each leader a personalized weapon engraved with their name.
The Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever learned the exact nature of the gift only upon arrival in Belgium, when his entourage said the prime minister was surprised and immediately handed it over to airport police.
In the same period, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa received revolvers, with von der Leyen’s spokesperson saying she thanked President Erdogan and planned to donate the weapon “to a military museum.”
Security teams scramble
Belgian officials said De Wever’s security team handed the revolvers to airport police so the matter could be handled in accordance with relevant procedures after the delegation discovered the contents on landing in Belgium.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar posted on X that he received “a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name,” while the Belgian prime minister’s entourage said he learned of the exact nature of the gift only after arrival in Belgium.
The Guardian reported that Von der Leyen “expressed her thanks” to Erdoğan for the gift, adding that it would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum.
The Washington Post described Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever discovering “a pistol and live ammunition in his possession” after Erdogan handed out the gifts to leaders of NATO’s 32 member countries.
Legal and logistical fallout
Several leaders faced legal and logistical problems because many countries do not allow the import of functioning firearms by government officials returning from diplomatic trips, with the Independent noting that Starmer was expected to have his firearm decommissioned before bringing it back to the UK.
The Independent said the present also came with a certificate waiving export control to allow politicians to leave the country with the guns, while a European Council official said Costa’s security team would follow Belgian procedures to bring it to Belgium and store it under security requirements imposed by the General Secretariat of the Council.
In Canada, Mark Carney took his revolver with him but left the ammunition in Turkey, and National Post quoted Carney saying, “It’s not a legal firearm in Canada, and I certainly don’t have a licence for it,” while adding, “We’re going to find the best home for it”.
The Guardian said several revolvers, including those belonging to Starmer, Friedrich Merz, and Rob Jetten, “have for now remained in the Turkish capital,” and it reported that transporting firearms is often far from straightforward when they are fully functional.
