NATO leaders receive engraved Turkish revolvers as summit gifts

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever discovered a handgun and ammunition in his luggage after returning home from the summit. He later handed the weapon over to Brussels Airport police for secure storage.

According to reports, Erdogan presented each leader with a vintage Turkish-made revolver as part of an effort to showcase the country s growing defence industry.

Images shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shot revolver produced by Turkish state-owned arms manufacturer MKE in the 1990s.

The revolver was displayed in a wooden presentation box featuring the Turkish flag, the NATO logo and a plaque identifying it as the first revolver-type handgun produced in Türkiye.

A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said every leader received the same model, engraved with their own name.

An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki said the revolver was awaiting customs clearance at Warsaw Airport and would be stored safely.

"Certainly no one will be shooting it," the aide said.

The offices of the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers said their revolvers had been transferred to their respective embassies in Ankara. The Dutch government plans to disable the firearm, while Sweden is completing import formalities.

According to a source at Downing Street, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer s gift included a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni s revolver has already been placed in storage at Palazzo Chigi alongside other official state gifts.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to donate her revolver to a military museum, while the Greek prime minister intends to present his to the War Museum in Athens.

The Gumusay revolver is considered a collector s item, as Türkiye s firearms industry now primarily manufactures semi-automatic pistols.

Turkish gunmakers have expanded their presence in Europe s civilian firearms market with competitively priced pistols and shotguns.

According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Türkiye was the world s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, with exports worth around $3 billion during the period, behind the United States and Italy.