'Unusual gift': Nato leaders receive engraved revolvers bearing their names from Erdogan

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar on Thursday said he received an unusual gift from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the Nato Summit — a Magnum revolver engraved with his name.

Magyar revealed the gift in a post on X, describing it as an unexpected gesture from the Turkish leader.

“An unusual gift from President @RTErdogan at the NATO Summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name…” Magyar wrote.

The gift was part of a broader gesture by Erdogan to leaders attending the Nato summit, where each delegation reportedly received a vintage Turkish-made revolver engraved with the recipient's name.

More from World

According to Reuters, the firearm presented to leaders was the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare revolver produced by Turkish state-owned defence manufacturer MKE in the 1990s.

The revolver was displayed in a wooden presentation box featuring the Turkish flag and the Nato logo, along with an inscription describing it as "the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country" in Turkish and English.

Turkish President Erdogan is said to have used the gifts to showcase Turkey's growing defence industry, which has become an important component of the country's exports and foreign policy outreach.

Several Nato leaders reportedly received identical revolvers.

A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said all leaders were given the same model, each engraved with their own names.

The unusual gift prompted varied reactions among recipients. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever reportedly handed his revolver to airport police upon arriving in Brussels so it could be stored securely.

An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki said the firearm was awaiting customs clearance in Warsaw and would be stored safely.

"Certainly no one will be shooting it," the aide told Polish media.

Officials from the Netherlands and Sweden said their revolvers had been transferred to their respective embassies in Ankara, with Dutch authorities planning to deactivate the weapon before import. The Swedish firearm was awaiting paperwork required for entry into the country.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's gift reportedly included a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's revolver was placed in storage at the Palazzo Chigi alongside other state gifts.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is reportedly considering donating her revolver to a military museum, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to present his gift to the War Museum in Athens.

The Gumuşsay revolver occupies a unique place in Turkey's firearms history. While the country's modern weapons industry primarily focuses on semi-automatic pistols and military equipment, the revolver is considered a collector's item and a symbol of Turkey's domestic defence manufacturing capabilities.

Turkey has emerged as a major player in the global small arms market in recent years, with Turkish manufacturers expanding their presence across Europe and other international markets through competitively priced firearms.

According to data from the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Turkey was the world's third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, behind only the United States and Italy, with exports valued at approximately $3 billion over the period.

Neither the Turkish presidency nor Nato immediately commented on the gifting of the revolvers, which has attracted significant attention due to the unusual nature of the diplomatic souvenir.

With inputs from agencies