Turkish president’s ‘unusual’ gift to Nato leaders: 1 revolver, 6 bullets

At the recent NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented each attending leader with a unique gift: a Magnum revolver engraved with their name, accompanied by six live bullets and a note exempting the weapons from export controls. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among the first to publicly mention the unusual present, describing it on his flight back from the summit. The gift reportedly caused surprise and logistical challenges for the security teams of the various NATO member states' delegations. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar also confirmed receiving the engraved revolver and ammunition.

At a recent NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented engraved revolvers with live ammunition to several attending leaders, including the British Prime Minister and the Hungarian Prime Minister. This unusual gift caused surprise and logistical challenges for the delegations' security teams, with some leaders immediately handing the weapons over to authorities upon arrival in their home countries. For instance, the Belgian Prime Minister's revolver was placed in a secure safe, while the EU chiefs' gifts were also handled by security. The Polish President's aide stated the weapon would not be fired, referencing a past incident where a gifted grenade launcher exploded. Several leaders, including the German Chancellor and the Dutch Prime Minister, left their revolvers in Turkey due to transport complexities. The motivation behind this gift remains unclear to the delegations.

At the conclusion of the Ankara summit, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) received gifts from Turkiye's President. These gifts consisted of engraved revolvers accompanied by live ammunition. The article states that the NATO leaders departed from the summit with these items. No further details regarding the specific recipients, the exact nature of the revolvers, or the stated reasons for the gifts are provided in the content.

During a Nato summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented Sir Keir Starmer with a personalised revolver and live ammunition. The firearm, engraved with Starmer's name, was among gifts given to attending national leaders. Starmer's revolver was left with British officials in Turkey due to the illegality of importing live firearms into the UK, and it is expected to be decommissioned before any return. President Erdogan waived export controls for the gift. The summit also saw Starmer sign a defence agreement with Erdogan to enhance intelligence sharing between the UK and Turkey.