A week after the so-called “sofagate”, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen had the opportunity to discuss the issue with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
The incident took place during the visit that the two EU leaders had in Ankara.
According to a source of the European Commission, The Commission’s president made it clear that she will never allow such a situation to happen again.
On Tuesday the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was taken aback to find her fellow top EU official taking the only chair available next to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan when the duo visited Ankara, and her spokesman made that clear on Wednesday.
Footage from their meeting on Tuesday showed the first female head of the EU executive, the only woman in the talks, gesturing in disbelief and uttering a surprised sigh as Erdogan and European Council President Charles Michel took the two centre-stage seats prepared, relegating her to an adjacent sofa.
“The president of the Commission was clearly surprised,” said the EU executive arm’s spokesman, Eric Mamer.
“The president (von der Leyen) should have been seated in exactly the same manner as the president of the European Council and the Turkish president.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Ursula von der Leyen in line with “demands and suggestions from the EU side,” rejecting criticism that Ankara snubbed the EU leader.
