Ankara: Western leaders come to Türkiye to discuss security issues in an increasingly dangerous world. They each left behind a revolver and six rounds of ammunition. The unconventional gift from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, host of this week’s NATO summit, is intended to showcase the country’s growing defense industry.But it left officials across the league scratching their heads. Some people are forced to leave gifts due to their respective countries’ gun laws, while others donate their gifts to museums. “I’m shocked that my maple syrup gift was a little less than stellar,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters, adding that the gun is now in police possession. “I want to assure Canadians that they will not let me own a gun.”“President Erdogan presented an unusual gift at the NATO summit: a loaded Magnum revolver with my name engraved on it,” Hungary’s new Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on X. He posted a photo of a display box containing the revolver and six rounds of ammunition.A spokesman for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she thanked Erdogan for the gift, which will be decommissioned and donated to a military museum. Greek officials said the gun would be donated to a “war museum.”Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters the gift bag contained a note exempting him from export controls. Despite this, he kept it to await decommissioning as it was illegal to import it into the UK.Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever handed the revolver to the police upon arrival. Revolvers presented to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Dutch Chancellor Rob Jetten were left at their respective countries’ embassies in Ankara and will also be taken out of service, officials said.The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Erdogan’s gifts to NATO leaders.Turkish media reported that the revolver was a “Gumusay.” 357 Magnum, an old six-shot revolver produced by Turkish national arms manufacturer MKE. Gun culture runs deep in Türkiye. Umut Vakfi of the Gun Control Foundation said armed violence had reached alarming levels, with more than 2,700 incidents reported last year in the country of 86 million people.
