NATO leaders who gathered in Turkey this week to discuss global security returned home with an unusual souvenir from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — an engraved revolver and six rounds of ammunition.
The gift was intended to highlight Turkey's expanding defence industry, but it left several leaders facing legal and practical challenges over what to do with the firearms.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the revolver had been handed over to police because of Canada's gun laws.
"It struck me that my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched," Carney told reporters. "I would like to reassure Canadians, they keep guns away from me."
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar shared a photo on X showing a Magnum revolver engraved with his name alongside six cartridges. It was not immediately known what he planned to do with the gift.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked Erdogan for the present, but her spokesperson said the firearm would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the gift package included a document waiving export controls. However, he left the revolver behind because importing it into the United Kingdom would be illegal. It will also be decommissioned.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver over to airport police after returning home.
Officials said the firearms presented to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten were left at their countries' embassies in Ankara and would also be taken out of service.
Jetten said the gift was unlike anything he had seen before.
"My first reaction was, this is something a bit different to the box of syrup waffles that we gave out at the NATO summit in The Hague," he said. He added that Erdogan appeared to be showcasing Turkey's defence industry, which has become one of the strongest in the region.
Croatian President Zoran Milanović said he only learned after returning home that Erdogan had given him a revolver. His office said it would most likely be donated to a police museum.
"I didn't take it. I shoot from different weapons," Milanović joked, referring to his political style.
The White House did not immediately comment on the gifts.
Erdogan's office has also not officially commented. Turkish media identified the gift as the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a vintage six-shot revolver produced by state-owned arms manufacturer MKE.
According to local reports, the revolvers were meant to demonstrate the progress of Turkey's defence industry, which has evolved from relying heavily on foreign suppliers to produce advanced military equipment, including drones, warships and a next-generation fighter jet currently under development.
Gun ownership has long been part of Turkish culture, and the gifts drew little reaction within the country. However, the gun control advocacy group Umut Vakfi says armed violence remains a serious concern, reporting more than 2,700 gun-related incidents across Turkey last year.
In addition to the revolver, summit participants also received a copy of Erdogan's biography, "The Politics of Courage: Erdogan and the Rise of Türkiye," according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.