Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented each leader attending the NATO summit in Ankara with a personalised revolver and live ammunition, in a gesture widely interpreted as a symbolic showcase of Turkey's growing defence industry. Among the recipients was British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who confirmed the unusual diplomatic gift while speaking to journalists aboard his flight back to the United Kingdom.

Each firearm — a Turkish-made revolver engraved with its recipient's name — was accompanied by a box of live rounds and a signed note from Erdoğan personally waiving Turkish export restrictions on the weapon. Despite this special exemption, Starmer was unable to bring the gift home. Under British firearms legislation significantly tightened following the 1996 Dunblane school massacre in Scotland, the import of handguns is strictly prohibited. The revolver has been left with British officials in Turkey and is expected to be decommissioned — rendered incapable of firing live ammunition — before it is returned to the UK. Downing Street has not released a photograph of the weapon.

Other allied leaders appear to have faced varying legal hurdles. German authorities reportedly treated the revolver intended for the German chancellor as an official state gift, routing it through the German Embassy in Ankara to complete the import process in accordance with applicable legal frameworks. It remains unclear whether other NATO leaders encountered similar complications.

The summit, held on 7 and 8 July 2026, centred on substantive discussions about increased defence spending among member states, continued support for Ukraine, and the future of military cooperation within the alliance — alongside issues relating to Turkey's defence industries and arms exports. On the sidelines, Starmer signed a bilateral defence agreement with Erdoğan that is expected to deepen intelligence sharing between the two countries. Speaking after the summit, Starmer struck an upbeat note: