Although a large number of world media outlets are writing about the pistols that alliance leaders and other guests received as gifts at the NATO summit in Ankara, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić has not stated what he did with his.
The summit was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on that occasion, presented all participants with a revolver with their names engraved and ammunition as a farewell gift.
Photos released by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda show a Gumusay.357 Magnum, a rare six-shot revolver manufactured in the 1990s by the Turkish company MKE.
It was placed in a wooden display case, with the Turkish flag and NATO logo, as well as a plaque that read in Turkish and English: “Gumusay, the first revolver pistol produced in our country.”
Spajić did not answer the question of "Vijesti" whether he also received a gun from the Turkish president, whether he brought it into Montenegro, if not - what was done with it, whether it was left at the embassy as many leaders have done, and whether there are plans to disable the gun for use.
According to the Law on Weapons (Article 56, paragraph 1), a Montenegrin citizen and a legal entity headquartered in Montenegro may import weapons into the country that have been purchased for their own needs, based on an approval for the purchase of weapons and a permit from the state administration body responsible for foreign trade, while the border police (Article 2 of the same paragraph) confirms the import of weapons and informs the Customs Administration and the competent ministry thereof.
If the gun were rendered unusable, it would not be treated as a weapon (Article 6, paragraph 1).
According to the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, once it is reported, the revolver should become the property of the state.
Article 18 of that law stipulates that “a public official, in connection with the performance of a public function, may not receive gifts, except for protocol and occasional gifts”, but also that “a protocol gift is considered a gift from a representative of another state or international organization given during a visit, guest appearance or on other occasions, as well as other gifts given on similar occasions”.
Protocol gifts, regardless of their value, become the property of the state or municipality (paragraph 20 of the same law).
Left at embassies or airports while they clear customs, some will donate to museums
A spokesman for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that all leaders received the same model, with their own names engraved.
An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki told Radio RMF FM that his revolver is awaiting customs clearance at the Warsaw airport and will be kept in a suitable place, "so that it is, first of all, safe, and secondly, respected as a gift."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni's revolver was already stored in the government's headquarters, Chigi Palace, along with other state gifts.
Von der Leyen "expressed her gratitude" to Erdogan for the gift, her spokesman said, as reported by the Guardian, adding that the weapon would be permanently deactivated and donated to a military museum.
The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, also received pistols.
An official from the European institution told Politiko that Košta's security team had taken possession of the weapons for inspection.
"We will follow Belgian procedures to bring it into Belgium and then store it in accordance with the security requirements laid down by the General Secretariat of the Council," he said.
According to Reuters, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to donate his to the War Museum in Athens.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took a revolver with him but left the ammunition in Turkey, Canadian officials said, CNN reported.
The weapons gifted to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson "will have to be transported to Sweden in accordance with all applicable procedures," his team said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's revolver was not brought back to his country and is still with British officials in Turkey. Erdogan has lifted restrictions on the export of gifts, but the revolver was left in Turkey because importing functional firearms into the UK is illegal.
The White House did not respond to questions from The Washington Post about whether US President Donald Trump received a revolver and, if so, what he did with it.
The President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, as confirmed to "Sloboden Pečat" by her office, will not use the revolver she received as a gift from her Turkish colleague, nor will she have any contact with him.
It is expected that it will be permanently disabled before its return, meaning it will no longer be able to fire live ammunition.
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