Most Nato summits end with a communiqué. This one ended with customs problems. As leaders prepared to leave Ankara this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented each visiting head of state with an engraved Turkish-made revolver complete with ammunition and cleaning kit — prompting a flurry of questions not about geopolitics, but about firearms licences, diplomatic protocol and how to get a loaded handgun through airport security.

The gift — a vintage Gümüşay .357 Magnum revolver bearing each recipient's name — was presented in a wooden display case carrying the Turkish flag and Nato logo, together with a cleaning kit, live ammo and export paperwork.

Intended as a showcase for Turkey's expanding arms industry, the personalised firearms left many leaders wondering how they could get a gun into their home countries. Most of the Nato bigwigs gave up their pistols at the border and said it would be blanked. Others sent it to embassies, armouries, or said it would be donated to a museum. It appears none of them intend to take the pistol home and put it on the wall over the mantelpiece.

Erdogan’s gift quickly became a diplomatic gaffe. It left Nato leaders scratching their heads, not wanting to offend the Turkish strongman, but uncomfortable about carrying firearms with live ammunition over the border and into their home countries.

Belgium: Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver directly to police at Brussels Airport on arrival so it could be secured in a safe while officials determine how to handle the diplomatic gift.

Britain: Prime Minister Keir Starmer received one of the more elaborate gift sets, including 500 rounds of ammunition. British officials said the revolver would remain in Turkey until it could be decommissioned before being brought to the UK under Britain's strict firearms regulations.

Canada: Prime Minister Mark Carney is reportedly looking for a military museum that could eventually house the revolver after it has been rendered incapable of firing.

European Commission: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also intends to donate her engraved revolver to a military museum after it has been blanked.

Germany: Chancellor Friedrich Merz didn’t even try to take his back to Germany, handing the revolver over to the German embassy in Ankara so it could be imported and inventoried under the normal procedures governing official state gifts. Under German diplomatic rules, normally civil servants are not allowed to accept any gift – even flowers are problematic.

Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's revolver has already been placed in storage at Palazzo Chigi alongside other diplomatic gifts received by the Italian government.

Netherlands: Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten's revolver was taken to the Dutch embassy in Ankara, where officials said it would be permanently disabled before being transported home.

Poland: President Karol Nawrocki's office said the revolver remained at Warsaw Airport awaiting customs clearance and would be stored "in an appropriate place so that it is firstly safe and secondly respected as a gift." An aide added: "Certainly no one will be shooting it."

Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's office confirmed that all leaders had received identical revolvers, each engraved with the recipient's own name, but didn’t say what has happened to his pistol.

Sweden: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's revolver was transferred to Sweden's embassy in Ankara while officials completed the paperwork required for legal importation.

Turkey has the largest army in Europe and with Europe in the midst of von der Leyen’s ReArm military modernisation programme that is going to cost billions of euros, you can see why Erdogan was keen to demonstrate Turkey’s arms-making prowess. But at end of the day, the idea of handing out guns to top Nato leaders seems to have backfired.