Erdogan gives NATO leaders pistols as gifts
Jul 10, 2026
Ankara [Turkiye], July 10: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other leaders an unusual gift at a NATO summit in Ankara, presenting them with pistols and a box of live ammunition.
A German government spokesman told DPA that Merz's revolver had been handed over to the German embassy so that it could be properly imported and then inventoried in the collection of official gifts.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier told reporters about the gifts on his flight home from the summit, according to reports by The Guardian and the Press Association news agency. Starmer said Erdogan had given all leaders at the summit a similar present, with each weapon engraved with the recipient's name. Despite a note from Erdogan waiving export controls, Starmer left his revolver in Turkiye to be decommissioned, as importing it would have breached the UK's strict gun laws, the reports said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
