Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives unusual parting gifts to NATO leaders after the summit in Ankara. Multiple reports say Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever returned home to find a handgun and live ammunition in his luggage and was surprised by the items. Erdogan’s office distributes what appears to be the same vintage revolver model to leaders, described as a Gumusay .357 Magnum six-shooter produced by Turkish arms maker MKE in the 1990s. Photos released by the Lithuanian president’s office show the revolver in a wooden display case with Turkey’s flag and the NATO logo, along with a placard describing it as the first revolver-type handgun produced in the country. Other leaders’ offices handle the gifts through airport police, embassies, or government storage pending safety and import steps; officials also say the guns are not intended to be fired. Sources quoted in the reports say some revolvers were set to be disabled, while others awaited customs paperwork. The gifts are framed as part of Erdogan’s effort to highlight Turkey’s defence industry, which has become a notable export and foreign-policy tool.
Erdogan gifts NATO leaders vintage revolvers with live ammunition after Ankara summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives unusual parting gifts to NATO leaders after the summit in Ankara. Multiple reports say Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever returned home to find a handg...
- NATO leaders receive revolvers from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the summit in Ankara.
- Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever reports finding a handgun and live ammunition in his luggage on returning home.
- The revolvers are described as a vintage Gumusay .357 Magnum produced by MKE in the 1990s, presented in display boxes with NATO and Turkish branding.
- Several leaders’ offices arrange safekeeping steps such as storing at embassies, government sites, or arranging customs and security measures; some plan to disable the weapons.
- The reported purpose is to showcase Turkey’s defence industry and its role in defence exports and foreign policy.
Belgium’s prime minister was a little surprised on landing back home from Wednesday’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) summit in Turkey to find that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage. After Nato leaders gathered for Wednesday’s fractious summit in Ankara, their host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handed each an unusual parting gift: a vintage revolver, along with live ammunition indicating it was not just for show. Erdogan wanted to showcase Turkey’s defence industry, which has become a key export and foreign policy tool. Images shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shooter produced by Turkish arms maker MKE in the 1990s. It was set in a wooden display box featuring Turkey’s flag and the Nato logo as well as a placard inscribed “Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country” in Turkish and English. The pistol gifted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever at NATO summit in Ankara. —Handout via Reuters Engraved Turkish revolvers make unusual gifts Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s spokesperson said all the leaders had been given the same model, engraved with their own names. The Belgian premier, Bart De Wever, handed his to Brussels’ airport police to be secured in a safe. An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki told Radio RMF FM that his revolver was awaiting customs clearance at Warsaw Airport and would be kept in an appropriate place “so that it is firstly safe and secondly respected as a gift”. “Certainly no one will be shooting it,” he added. The offices of the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers said their revolvers had been taken to their respective embassies in Ankara. The Dutch one was due to be disabled while the Swedish one was awaiting import paperwork. The gun given to Britain’s Keir Starmer came with a cleaning kit and 500 bullets, a Downing Street source said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s revolver was already stored at the seat of government, the Palazzo Chigi, along with other state gifts. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was intending to donate hers to a military museum. Turkey’s modern handgun industry focuses mainly on semi-automatics, making the Gumusay something of a collector’s curiosity. Turkish gunmakers have muscled into Europe’s civilian firearms market with inexpensive pistols and shotguns, challenging older Italian and Belgian names long associated with higher-priced sporting and service weapons. According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Turkey was the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, with exports totalling about $3 billion over the period, behind the United States and Italy.
1 hour agoBelgium's prime minister was a little surprised on landing back home from Wednesday's NATO summit in Turkey to find that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage.
2 hours agoMADRID, July 9 (Reuters) - Belgium's prime minister was a little surprised on landing back home from Wednesday's NATO summit in Turkey to find that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage.After NATO leaders gathered for Wednesday's fractious summit in Ankara, their host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handed each an unusual parting gift: a vintage revolver, along with live ammunition indicating it was not just for show.Erdogan wanted to showcase Turkey's defence industry, which has become a key export and foreign policy tool.
2 hours ago
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