Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented engraved vintage revolvers to NATO leaders at the conclusion of the alliance summit in Ankara, creating an unexpected logistical and security challenge as delegations returned home.
The gifts, which included live ammunition, prompted different responses from member states as officials worked through transport, customs, and storage procedures.
The revolvers, engraved with each leader's name, were intended to showcase Turkey's domestic defence industry and were presented in wooden display boxes bearing Turkey's flag and the NATO logo.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he was surprised to discover the handgun and ammunition after arriving home and immediately handed the weapon to airport police for secure storage.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki's revolver remained at Warsaw Airport awaiting customs clearance, with an aide saying it would be stored safely and that "Certainly no one will be shooting it."
The offices of the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers said their revolvers had been taken to their embassies in Ankara, with the Dutch firearm set to be disabled while the Swedish gift awaited import documentation.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's gift reportedly included a cleaning kit and 500 bullets.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's revolver was placed with other official state gifts, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen planned to have hers decommissioned before donating it to a military museum.
Greek officials said their revolver would also be donated to the War Museum in Athens.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had not seen the firearm, adding that it had been deactivated and could eventually be displayed in Canada's national war museum.
Images released by the Lithuanian presidency showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare revolver produced by Turkish state arms manufacturer MKE during the 1990s.
Turkey's modern firearms industry is primarily focused on semi-automatic pistols, making the Gumusay an uncommon collector's item.
The presentation highlighted Turkey's expanding defence sector, which has become an increasingly important export industry and foreign policy instrument.
According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Turkey ranked as the world's third-largest exporter of small arms between 2019 and 2024, behind the United States and Italy.