After NATO leaders gathered for Wednesday's fractious summit in Ankara, their host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handed each an unusual parting gift: a vintage revolver, along with live ammunition.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the occasion to highlight Turkey's defense industry, which has become an important export sector and a key tool of the country's foreign policy.
Photos shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be a Gumusay .357 Magnum revolver, a rare six-shot handgun produced by Turkish arms manufacturer MKE in the 1990s.
The revolver was presented in a wooden display box featuring the Turkish flag, the NATO logo and a plaque in Turkish and English describing it as "Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country."
A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said all NATO leaders received the same model, with each revolver engraved with the recipient's name.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver to airport police in Brussels, where it was placed in a secure safe.
An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki told Radio RMF FM that Poland's revolver was awaiting customs clearance at Warsaw Airport and would later be stored in a secure location to ensure both its safety and its value as a diplomatic gift. The aide added that no one would be using the firearm.
The offices of the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers said their revolvers had been taken to their respective embassies in Ankara. The Dutch revolver is expected to be deactivated, while the Swedish revolver is awaiting the necessary import documentation.
According to a Downing Street source, the revolver presented to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also included a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's revolver has already been placed at Palazzo Chigi, the official seat of the Italian government, along with other state gifts.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to donate her revolver to a military museum.
Turkey's modern firearms industry mainly produces semiautomatic pistols, making the Gumusay revolver a rare collector's item.
In recent years, Turkish gun manufacturers have expanded their presence in Europe's civilian firearms market by offering lower-cost pistols and shotguns, competing with long-established Italian and Belgian manufacturers known for higher-priced sporting and service firearms.
According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Turkey was the world's third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, with exports totaling about $3 billion during that period, behind only the United States and Italy.
