ANKARA, Jul 9 (Alliance News): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented engraved vintage revolvers to NATO leaders as farewell gifts after the alliance’s summit in Ankara, highlighting Türkiye’s growing defence industry and expanding arms exports.
According to Reuters, each leader received a Gumusay .357 Magnum revolver displayed in a wooden presentation box featuring Türkiye’s flag and the NATO logo. The firearm was accompanied by live ammunition, making it more than a symbolic gift.
Images released by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed the revolver with an inscription describing it as the first revolver-type handgun produced in Türkiye.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s office confirmed that all 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 upon returning home so it could be stored safely. Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s office said the gift was awaiting customs clearance and would be securely preserved as a state gift.
The offices of the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers said their revolvers had been transferred to their embassies in Ankara, with the Dutch firearm set to be deactivated while the Swedish one awaited import approval.
A source at Britain’s Downing Street said Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s gift also included a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s revolver has been placed in secure storage with other official state gifts. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to donate hers to a military museum, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis intends to present his to the War Museum in Athens.
The Gumusay revolver was produced by Turkish defence manufacturer MKE during the 1990s and is now considered a rare collector’s item.
Türkiye has become a major player in the global defence market, with its manufacturers exporting a wide range of firearms.
According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Türkiye was the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, with exports worth around $3 billion, ranking behind the United States and Italy.
