Erdogan’s NATO Summit Gift Sparks Security Logistics Headache

The gift, a rare six-shooter produced by state-run MKE in the 1990s, arrived in wooden display boxes alongside live ammunition. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever immediately turned his over to airport police upon landing, while Polish officials confirmed their unit remained in customs limbo at Warsaw Airport. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s gift included a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition, creating a logistical challenge for security details accustomed to traditional diplomatic tokens.

Other leaders sought creative solutions to manage the weaponry. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen intends to donate her revolver to a military museum, a path also chosen by the Greek leadership for their national war museum in Athens. Meanwhile, the Dutch and Swedish delegations opted to secure the items within their respective embassies in Ankara, awaiting formal import clearances. While the gesture served as a showcase for Turkey’s defense industry—now the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms—the revolvers remain, for most recipients, a collector’s curiosity rather than a functional tool.