• Turkish President Erdogan gifted German Chancellor Merz and other NATO leaders pistols and live ammunition at a summit in Ankara.
• Merz's revolver was handed over to the German embassy for proper import and inventorying in the collection of official gifts.
• British Prime Minister Starmer left his gifted revolver in Turkey to be decommissioned due to UK's strict gun laws, despite Erdogan's note waiving export controls.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other leaders an unusual gift at a NATO summit in Ankara, presenting them with pistols and a box of live ammunition.

A German government spokesman told dpa on Wednesday that Merz's revolver had been handed over to the German embassy so that it could be properly imported and then inventoried in the collection of official gifts.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier told reporters about the gifts on his flight home from the summit, according to reports by The Guardian and the Press Association news agency.

Starmer said Erdoğan had given all leaders at the summit a similar present, with each weapon engraved with the recipient's name.

Despite a note from Erdoğan waiving export controls, Starmer left his revolver in Turkey to be decommissioned, as importing it would have breached the UK's strict gun laws, the reports said.

The Turkish presidency initially did not respond to a dpa request for comment on the weapons.