The security staff of the delegations to the G20 summit in Hamburg on July 7 and 8 may be allowed to carry firearms with the permission of the German government, German media group Funke Mediengruppe reported on Monday.
Several states, including Mexico, the U.S., Britain, South Africa, Vietnam and the Netherlands, have already applied for such a weapon clearance, according to the Federal Office of Administration (BVA).
Nine applications for issuance of firearms permits have been received by BVA. According to the report, no request by a G20 participant country has been rejected. The representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also applied for permits for their delegation.
Additional applications for the import and carrying of weapons during the summit are expected to be submitted to the Administrative Office within the next two weeks, including the Turkish and Russian delegations, the report said.
The German Federal Criminal Police said that the foreign security personnel would not carry police powers but "only the right of self-defense".
Hamburg's police forces retain exclusive authority over its streets, the City's Mayor said, emphasizing that this circumstance applied equally to foreign security personnel.
German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday that the Federal Foreign Office banned a number of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security guards from entering Germany.
This was, according to the report, a consequence of the violent confrontation reportedly between Turkish security personnel and protesters in Washington in May.
The Turkish Embassy has sent the Foreign Office a list of some 50 persons who are to accompany Erdogan to Hamburg, including several members of the security forces against whom the U.S. authorities have issued arrest warrants after the violent incidents in Washington. According to the report, the Foreign Office has rejected the entry into Germany of those involved.
