Ursula von der Leyen ‘surprised’ to be relegated to sofa, her spokesman says. [ Ссылка ] EU Commission president left without a seat in ‘diplomatic fiasco’ at Turkey meeting. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was left "surprised" after being left without a chair during a high-level meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Video footage shows von der Leyen, the European Commission's first female president, forced to sit on a nearby sofa.
It produced an awkward scene, with von der Leyen several metres away from Erdogan and Charles Michel, president of the European Council.
Michel, a former prime minister of Belgium, is of equivalent rank to von der Leyen. Nevertheless, he sat next to Erdogan and did not offer up his chair.
The incident comes with Turkey under the spotlight over women's rights after withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty on preventing domestic violence.
Eric Mamer, the chief spokesman of the European Commission, told reporters that von der Leyen was "clearly surprised" by the absence of the chair but preferred to focus on the "substance" of the meeting and "give priority to formal matters".
The president of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was momentarily left without a seat as she met with the European council president, Charles Michel and Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Ankara on Tuesday - triggering an avalanche of criticism. [ Ссылка ] With only two chairs available, Von der Leyen, the sole attending female leader, sat on the sofa as Erdoğan and Michel sat on the chairs. “Ehm,” she muttered, with a small gesticulation directed at the occupied seats. Michel, who had appeared to make a bee-line for the top spot next to Erdoğan as the party entered, offered little evidence of regret.
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A spokesperson for Von der Leyen said: "The important thing is that the president should have been seated in exactly the same manner as the President of the European Council and the Turkish President. But ... she decided to proceed nevertheless prioritising substance over protocol."
The awkward scene was played out ahead of a three-hour meeting with Erdoğan where one of the issues raised by the EU leaders was women’s rights in light of Turkey’s withdrawal from a convention on gender-based violence.
Ursula Von der Leyen snubbed in chair gaffe at EU-Erdoğan talks
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Von der Leyen took the opportunity to discuss women's rights and the Istanbul Convention with Erdoğan.
"Her assertiveness was clearly on display", Mamer said.
Von der Leyen has already asked her staff to clarify the incident and ensure that a similar incident is not repeated in the future, Mamer added.
He also said the European Commission was not aware of any apology from the teams of President Michel or President Erdoğan.
The team of Charles Michel and the staff of the EU delegation in Ankara were involved in preparations for the meeting, as well as Turkish officials as hosts.
The protocol team of von der Leyen did not fly to Turkey due to safety measures related to the coronavirus pandemic.
