Erdogan gifts NATO leaders personalised revolvers, Nawrocki's revolver under legal review
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented personalised revolvers and ammunition to world leaders at the NATO summit in Ankara, with Polish President Karol Nawrocki's gift held for customs and legal review upon return to Warsaw.
A personal gift from the host
The Wall Street Journal first reported that at this week's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave each attending leader a personalised revolver and a box of live ammunition. The revolvers were engraved with the recipients' names, and Erdogan also provided a note exempting the weapons from export controls, according to AFP. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the gift to journalists on his return flight, saying that the Turkish president handed a revolver and ammunition to every leader. An anonymous official told the WSJ that leaders from countries with strict gun laws left their weapons in Turkey. The custom-made presents were not mentioned during the official summit proceedings.
Leaders face legal hurdles
Starmer explained that taking the revolver to the UK would have broken British firearms laws, so British officials secured it in Turkey. The BBC reported that the weapon was left in the care of UK diplomats. U.S. President Donald Trump also received a personalised revolver, though it is unknown what became of his gift. For Polish President Karol Nawrocki, the revolver made it to Warsaw but was immediately surrendered to customs officers at Chopin Airport. Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential International Policy Office, told RMF FM that he could not tell whether the item was a real firearm or a replica.
I do not know exactly whether it is a replica or some original.
Polish procedures and diplomatic protocol
Przydacz stressed that the revolver would not be used and all legal requirements would be met.
Certainly, no one will shoot from it and all legal regulations will be observed here.
The gift was sent for customs clearance and a full legal review; only after that would a decision be made on whether it can be retained. He described the situation as quite unusual but emphasised that in diplomacy, such presents are rarely refused, calling it a gesture of respect from the host to the guests. The revolver is to be placed in a designated storage facility.
Summit concludes with defence pledge
The Ankara summit brought together leaders from 32 NATO member states alongside representatives from Gulf and Asia-Pacific nations. In their final declaration, they reaffirmed the alliance's "unwavering commitment to collective defence under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty." For a time, though, the personalised revolver gifts captured more attention than the official agenda.
