Erdogan presents personalised revolvers to NATO leaders at Ankara summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave each head of state and government attending the NATO summit in Ankara a personalised revolver and a box of ammunition, prompting recipients to leave the weapons behind due to import restrictions.
The gift
At the close of the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented each attending head of state and government with a personalised revolver and a box of ammunition. The weapons were engraved with the recipient's name, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on his flight home.
The pistols were engraved with the name of each summit participant.
Erdogan also included a signed letter waiving Turkish export restrictions for the firearms, but that did not override the import laws of the recipients' home countries.
Recipients leave weapons behind
Neither Starmer nor German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the gift home. A German government spokesperson said the revolver was handed to the embassy for proper import and inventory in the official gifts collection.
The revolver was handed over to the embassy so that it can be properly imported and then inventoried in the collection of official gifts.
Starmer left his in Turkey because importing a firearm into the United Kingdom would be illegal. He did not disclose the type of pistol he received. Initial uncertainty over what Merz did with his weapon was resolved by the German government's statement confirming the embassy handover.
Summit backdrop
The Ankara gathering was the last major international meeting for Starmer as prime minister. The ruling Labour Party begins the process to nominate his successor on Thursday. Other attendees included US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
