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Erdogan presented every NATO leader attending the Ankara summit with a surprising choice of gift: a revolver engraved with their name and a box of live rounds.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who disclosed the gesture to journalists on the flight home, was unable to bring his back to Britain, where importing the weapon would be illegal.
His revolver stays in Ankara, to be decommissioned, despite Erdogan having provided a personal note waiving Türkiye's export controls.
Starmer shared the detail with reporters on the flight home from Ankara, describing the revolvers as a surprising choice from the Turkish president.
Erdogan also supplied each leader with a note personally waiving Türkiye's export controls on the weapon, an unusual step that nonetheless could not resolve the legal situation Starmer faced upon return to Britain.
It is not clear whether other NATO leaders faced similar obstacles to bringing their weapons home.
Starmer's situation was specific to British firearms law, which has imposed strict controls on the import and private possession of handguns since the Dunblane massacre of 1996 prompted a near-total ban.
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The gifts were presented on the margins of the 36th NATO Summit, held July 7-8 at Türkiye's Presidential Complex in Ankara, the first NATO summit hosted by Türkiye since Istanbul in 2004.
Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan personally welcomed alliance leaders at the complex, hosting a reception and state dinner on the opening evening.
The summit itself was dominated by questions of defence spending, support for Ukraine, and the prospect of renewed American arms sales to Ankara, including a potential reversal of the longstanding ban on F-35 fighter jet sales to Türkiye.
Erdogan's written waiver of Türkiye's export controls showed an apparent awareness that the weapons might encounter scrutiny at borders.
For Starmer, the note resolved only the Turkish side of the equation. British law was not so easily waived.
The prime minister returned home without the revolver. It will be decommissioned in Türkiye, leaving Starmer with the story, and not the gun.
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