NATO Leaders Receive Live Ammunition Revolvers from Erdogan, Sparking Diplomatic Challenges

At the recent NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented each NATO leader with a luxury revolver accompanied by live ammunition. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever was surprised upon returning to Brussels to find the revolver and live rounds in his luggage, which were immediately handed over to airport police for secure storage. Reports indicate that all NATO leaders received the same model, a rare Gümüşay .357 Magnum revolver produced in the 1990s by Turkish manufacturer MKE, displayed in a wooden box bearing the Turkish flag and NATO emblem.

The gift was intended to showcase Turkey's growing arms industry, a significant export sector and foreign policy tool. However, the live ammunition included with the revolvers has created logistical and legal complications for the recipients. For example, Poland's received revolver is awaiting customs clearance and will be securely stored, while the UK’s revolver, given to Prime Minister Keir Starmer along with 500 rounds and a cleaning kit, cannot be legally transported on the government plane and is temporarily stored in Ankara pending deactivation.

Other countries have taken varied approaches: the Netherlands and Sweden have left their revolvers at their Ankara embassies, with plans for deactivation or import documentation, and Italy has placed its revolver in official government storage. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to donate hers to a military museum after rendering it unusable. Each revolver was accompanied by a letter from Erdogan permitting export despite Turkish restrictions, but the gifts still require customs procedures and legal handling in recipient countries.

The Gümüşay revolver is now considered a collector’s item, as Turkey’s modern firearms industry mainly produces semi-automatic pistols. Turkey ranked as the world’s third-largest small arms exporter from 2019 to 2024, with exports totaling around $3 billion, behind only the US and Italy. Erdogan’s unusual gift thus served both as a diplomatic gesture and a deliberate display of Turkey’s arms manufacturing capabilities at the NATO summit, though it has led to unexpected diplomatic and logistical challenges for the leaders involved.