The gift surprised many. Unexpected, significant. President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, host of the NATO summit held in Ankara, presented the attending leaders with a unique "institutional gift": a case with a pistol engraved with their names and six bullets. Also Pedro Sánchez. In the case of the Spanish Prime Minister, the revolver is being safeguarded by the Interior Ministry, which will render it unusable, inventory it, and store it, government sources inform this newspaper.
It is customary for the host leader to give a gift to their guests at these meetings. An exchange usually coordinated by the countries' protocol departments. Sánchez, like the other leaders, received the pistol in a case. A gift that puts the leaders in a dilemma about what to do with it.
Delegations from NATO member countries have explained that Turkey issued them a special document exempting them from export control, but carrying a revolver has caused issues for the leaders. Some, like Keir Starmer, decided to leave it in Turkey, at the British embassy, after being informed that they could not take it to the UK - it will be deactivated there due to the country's strict regulations on handguns.
The Prime Ministers of The Netherlands and Sweden have taken a similar approach: both have deposited it at their respective embassies in Ankara. As per their offices, the Netherlands will render it unusable while Sweden was awaiting shipment procedures.
In the case of Canada, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the Mounted Police would deactivate the weapon to make it inoperative, and the ammunition remained in Turkey. The intention is to donate it to a museum.
"This is an unusual situation, but we consider it a sign of respect," stated Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Poland, to Polish radio RMF FM. Their President, Karol Nawrocki, also received his gifted pistol. Przydacz added, "The gift is at the airport to go through legal customs clearance to avoid any issues. Subsequently, it will be moved to the appropriate storage facility." "Certainly, no one will fire it," he joked.
In Spain's case, government sources explain that it will be rendered unusable, then inventoried and stored. For instance, as explained by the Office of the President of Lithuania, this gift "like many other gifts received by the Head of State, will be displayed at the Presidential Palace."
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, also received the pistol as an "institutional gift." "The weapon will be transported and stored securely. Once decommissioned, the President (Von der Leyen) intends to donate it to a military museum," stated the European Commission spokesperson, Paula Pinho, to Efe on Thursday.
The pistol of Italian Giorgia Meloni has been deposited at the Italian government headquarters.
The revolver was in a wooden box bearing the flag of Turkey and the NATO logo, with a plaque describing it as the first revolver-type pistol manufactured in Turkey: "Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country," written in Turkish and English.
Belgian media like VRT News report that Prime Minister Bart De Wever did not realize what the gift was until landing in Melsbroek, as it was part of the group of gifts received by the leaders. Upon discovering it was a revolver, it was handed over to the airport police at Brussels Airport, where initially it was kept in a safe awaiting a decision on how to proceed.