Gümüşay .357 Magnum – A rare Turkish revolver
Reuters was the first news agency to report on the unusual gift, publishing photographs of the revolvers presented to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. The latter reportedly did not discover what the gift was until he arrived in Brussels. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that all senior officials had received the same gifts.
Turkey’s Erdogan gives NATO leaders revolver conundrum after summit https://t.co/hgrxqymnbI https://t.co/hgrxqymnbI
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 9, 2026
Meanwhile, the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer; the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten; and Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, decided to deposit the firearms at their countries’ embassies in Ankara because of regulations governing the importation of weapons into their home countries. A Downing Street source said that the firearm presented to the British prime minister came with a cleaning kit and 500 rounds of ammunition, although that figure does not appear to correspond with the available photographs.
The revolver presented to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has already been transferred to the government headquarters at Palazzo Chigi, together with other official gifts. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen intends to donate hers to an unspecified military museum, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to give his to the Athens War Museum.
Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, told RMF FM that the revolver presented to Karol Nawrocki had been submitted at Warsaw Chopin Airport for the appropriate customs clearance and legal review to ensure full compliance with the law. He added that when a gift is offered, diplomatic custom generally does not allow it to be refused.
“Certainly no one will be firing it,” Przydacz added.
“Prezent został skierowany przez @prezydentpl na @ChopinAirport do odpowiedniego oclenia i zbadania prawnego, by wszystko było zgodnie z przepisami. Jasne jest, że jeśli otrzymuje się prezent, w dyplomacji nie zwykło się odmawiać” – @marcin_przydacz, szef Biura Polityki… pic.twitter.com/uIsQsNWnAW
— RozmowaRMF (@Rozmowa_RMF) July 9, 2026
Analysis
The revolver presented to the politicians resembles the classic 20th-century version of the Colt Python, an American-made revolver chambered in .357 Magnum. In reality, however, it is a Turkish-made Gümüşay revolver, reportedly produced by the state-owned MKE company, about which only fragmentary information can be found online.
The examples presented to the politicians featured a high-polish finish, a 6-inch barrel, and wooden grip panels with checkered sides and finger grooves. The left grip panel, visible in the photographs, also featured what appears to be a gold-colored insert bearing an engraved or printed emblem of the Presidential Complex of the Republic of Türkiye and the word “ANKARA.” A second inscription is also visible, although it cannot be read in the currently available photographs. A crescent and star were applied to the frame directly below the cylinder release, while the names of the recipients were inscribed on the barrel.
The revolver was presented with six rounds of ammunition in a large, dark-brown case, most likely made of wood, with gold-colored accents. Its fitted interior was lined with black fabric. A gold-colored plaque on the inside of the lid bore the following inscription:
“Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country.” It is chambered for .357 Magnum and .38-caliber ammunition. Designed and manufactured by MKE in the 1990s.