Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever was shocked to discover that the pistol he received as a gift from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was loaded. Upon landing, the weapon was immediately handed over to airport police, and it’s still unclear what will be done with it, Reuters reported Thursday.
1+De Wever isn’t the only one who got the questionable gift. At the end of the NATO summit in Ankara, Erdogan handed out personalized vintage revolvers bearing each leader’s name—along with live ammunition.
According to the report, the gift is meant to showcase Turkey’s arms industry, which has become one of the country’s major export sectors in recent years and a significant tool in Ankara’s foreign policy.
1+The weapon is a Gumusay .357 Magnum revolver, manufactured in the 1990s by Turkish arms maker MKE, and is now considered a rare and valuable collector’s item.
Meanwhile, other leaders across Europe are trying to figure out what to do with the Turkish “gift.” Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s pistol is currently stuck in customs at Warsaw airport. The Netherlands decided not to take any chances and rushed to neutralize their prime minister’s gun, and in Sweden the weapon is still awaiting import approval.