Key facts
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gifted engraved .357 Magnum revolvers and live ammunition to NATO leaders at a summit in Ankara.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa were among the recipients.
- The firearms were presented as a leaving gift following the summit talks.
- Security teams for some leaders took possession of the weapons for checks and secure storage.
- Von der Leyen intends to donate her firearm to a military museum after it is decommissioned.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented NATO leaders attending a summit in Ankara with engraved .357 Magnum revolvers and live ammunition as a leaving gift. The elaborate firearms, accompanied by bullets and cleaning kits, were confirmed by EU officials to have been given to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
A European Council official stated that Costa's security team took possession of the weapon for checks and would store it in line with security requirements before it is brought to Belgium. A spokesperson for von der Leyen indicated that the president expressed her thanks for the gesture and that the firearm would be securely transported and stored. Once decommissioned, it is intended to be donated to a military museum.
However, the high-value ceremonial pistols are likely to contravene strict limits on gift values, making it unlikely for recipients to keep them personally. Other European leaders, including outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, publicly stated their intention to leave their pistols in Turkey to be decommissioned before their return home.
The article frames Erdoğan's gift as an established diplomatic tradition, rather than a diplomatic misstep. This practice echoes historical instances of leaders gifting firearms as ceremonial tokens. The Gümüşay .357 Magnum revolvers were engraved with each recipient's name, featuring the Turkish flag and NATO emblem, and also served as a promotional tool for Turkey's growing arms export industry.