Nato leaders surprised by Turkish president’s gift of guns after summit
✓What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum Nato leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit.
Keir Starmer was the first to mention the highly unusual gift presented by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his guests. On the flight back from Ankara, where Nato leaders had gathered for two days, the British prime minister said he and others had received a revolver engraved with their names.
Alongside the gun sitting in a red box lined in black were six live rounds and a note exempting the weapons from export controls.
It was a surprising gift to say the least, several officials from the different alliance member states said, and gave rise to some “insane” scenes among the various delegations’ security teams.
“An unusual gift from president Erdoğan at the Nato summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name,” the Hungarian prime minister, Péter Magyar, said on X.
The Belgian prime minister, Bart De Wever, only “learned of the exact nature of the gift” after landing in Belgium. “The prime minister was surprised and immediately handed it over to airport police so it could be placed in a secure safe and the matter was handled in accordance with relevant procedures,” an official said on Thursday.
De Wever’s security team also handled the revolvers given to the EU chiefs based in Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, with all the security and protocol-related headaches such an effort brings.
Von der Leyen “expressed her thanks” to Erdoğan for the gift, her spokesperson said, adding that it would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum.
The revolver presented to the Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, also arrived safely, but with the necessary precautions and a previous incident still fresh in everyone’s minds.
In December 2022, Poland’s police chief brought back an anti-tank grenade launcher from Ukraine that he had received as a gift. The device exploded in his office, slightly injuring him and causing extensive damage to the police headquarters in Warsaw.
This time, “it is certain that no one is going to fire it”, an aide to Nawrocki told a local radio station.
Several revolvers, including those belonging to Starmer, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten, have for now remained in the Turkish capital.
Depending on the laws in force, transporting firearms is often far from straightforward, especially when they are fully functional.
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Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, took his revolver with him but left the ammunition in Turkey, Canadian officials said. They did not explain why.
The weapon given to the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, “will have to be transported to Sweden in accordance with all applicable procedures”, his team said in a statement.
Beyond the logistical challenge, the gift also puzzled several delegations attending the summit, which focused on Ukraine, Iran, and relations with the US president, Donald Trump.
The question asked over and over again: why such a gift? While it is very common for heads of state to exchange various gifts during meetings or summits, such exchanges rarely require these kinds of precautions.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
At a two-day Nato summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented each attending world leader with a revolver engraved with their name, accompanied by six live rounds and documentation exempting the weapons from export controls. The gift created logistical complications. Several leaders—including Belgium's Bart De Wever and the EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa—handed their weapons to airport authorities for secure storage and compliance with relevant procedures. Others, including the leaders of Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands, left their revolvers in Turkey pending lawful transport. Canada's prime minister took his revolver but left the ammunition behind. Sweden's government indicated its weapon would be transported under applicable procedures. Poland's president received his revolver with precautions, given a 2022 incident in which Poland's police chief was injured when a gifted anti-tank grenade launcher exploded in his office. Von der Leyen's office said her revolver would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum. The Turkish presidency did not immediately comment on the gift or its rationale.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum Nato leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit.
Keir Starmer was the first to mention the highly unusual gift presented by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his guests. On the flight back from Ankara, where Nato leaders had gathered for two days, the British prime minister said he and others had received a revolver engraved with their names.
Alongside the gun sitting in a red box lined in black were six live rounds and a note exempting the weapons from export controls.
It was a surprising gift to say the least, several officials from the different alliance member states said, and gave rise to some “insane” scenes among the various delegations’ security teams.
“An unusual gift from president Erdoğan at the Nato summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name,” the Hungarian prime minister, Péter Magyar, said on X.
The Belgian prime minister, Bart De Wever, only “learned of the exact nature of the gift” after landing in Belgium. “The prime minister was surprised and immediately handed it over to airport police so it could be placed in a secure safe and the matter was handled in accordance with relevant procedures,” an official said on Thursday.
De Wever’s security team also handled the revolvers given to the EU chiefs based in Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, with all the security and protocol-related headaches such an effort brings.
Von der Leyen “expressed her thanks” to Erdoğan for the gift, her spokesperson said, adding that it would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum.
The revolver presented to the Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, also arrived safely, but with the necessary precautions and a previous incident still fresh in everyone’s minds.
In December 2022, Poland’s police chief brought back an anti-tank grenade launcher from Ukraine that he had received as a gift. The device exploded in his office, slightly injuring him and causing extensive damage to the police headquarters in Warsaw.
This time, “it is certain that no one is going to fire it”, an aide to Nawrocki told a local radio station.
Several revolvers, including those belonging to Starmer, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten, have for now remained in the Turkish capital.
Depending on the laws in force, transporting firearms is often far from straightforward, especially when they are fully functional.
after newsletter promotion
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, took his revolver with him but left the ammunition in Turkey, Canadian officials said. They did not explain why.
The weapon given to the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, “will have to be transported to Sweden in accordance with all applicable procedures”, his team said in a statement.
Beyond the logistical challenge, the gift also puzzled several delegations attending the summit, which focused on Ukraine, Iran, and relations with the US president, Donald Trump.
The question asked over and over again: why such a gift? While it is very common for heads of state to exchange various gifts during meetings or summits, such exchanges rarely require these kinds of precautions.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Turkish President Erdoğan presented Nato leaders attending an Ankara summit with revolvers engraved with their names, six live rounds, and export control exemption documents. The gift created significant security and logistical challenges for multiple delegations. Several leaders including Belgium's Bart De Wever and EU officials von der Leyen and Costa handed weapons to authorities for secure storage and legal compliance. Revolvers belonging to Britain's Starmer, Germany's Merz, and the Netherlands' Jetten remained in Turkey. Canada's prime minister took his revolver but left ammunition in Turkey. Sweden's government said its weapon would be transported under applicable procedures. Poland's revolver arrived with necessary precautions, following a 2022 incident where a gifted anti-tank grenade launcher exploded in the police chief's office. Ursula von der Leyen's revolver will be decommissioned and donated to a military museum. The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond with explanation for the unusual gift. Such gift exchanges rarely require significant security and logistical precautions. The gift puzzled delegations attending a summit focused on Ukraine, Iran, and US relations.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
- Turkish President Erdoğan gifted each Nato leader attending an Ankara summit a revolver engraved with their name, six live rounds, and a note exempting the weapons from export controls.
- The gift created significant logistical and security challenges for delegations, with some leaders immediately surrendering weapons to authorities while others left them in Turkey pending transport under applicable laws.
- No explanation was provided by the Turkish presidency for the unusual nature of the gift at a summit focused on Ukraine, Iran, and US relations.