* Photo: AA - Archive
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Mario Draghi, the Prime Minister of Italy, used the word "dictator" in reference to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey and the Chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Commenting on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen not being given an equal seat with European Council President Charles Michel and Erdoğan during their visit, he said:
"I absolutely do not agree with Erdogan's behavior towards President von der Leyen ... I think that it was not appropriate behavior and I was very sorry for the humiliation von der Leyen had to suffer.
"With these — let's call them for what they are — dictators, which we however need to cooperate with ... one has to be frank in expressing a diversity of views, opinions, behaviors, visions of society. And also has to be ready to cooperate to safeguard the interests of their country. This is important. We have to find the right equilibrium."
Ambassador summoned to Ministry
As reported by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), the Foreign Ministry of Turkey on Thursday (April 8) summoned the ambassador of Italy in Ankara to condemn Draghis's remarks on Erdoğan.
Çavuşoğlu: We strongly condemn
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has also slammed the Prime Minister's remarks on social media. "We strongly condemn the appointed Italian PM's unacceptable remarks on our elected president, and return the impudent remarks," Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.
"While EU Council President Michel explained that there was no problem or intention resulting from Turkey regarding the protocol design, Italy's appointed Prime Minister Draghi's remarks directed at our President are impudent and baseless. We condemn this expression and expect it to be corrected," Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın also said.
What happened?
Sergey Lagodinsky, the Chair of the Delegation to the European Union (EU) - Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, drew attention to the fact that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was not given an equal seat during her and European Council President Charles Michel's visit to ruling AKP Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In a video shared by Lagodinsky on Twitter shortly after the meeting at the Presidency on April 6, 2021, it was seen that Erdoğan and Michel sat on two equal seats across each other while von der Leyen remained standing for some time, to which she responded with "Ehm."
Lagodinsky has said, "'Ehm' is the new term for 'that's not how EU-Turkey relationship should be'. #GiveHerASeat #EU #Turkey #womensrights"
"Ehm" is the new term for "that's not how EU-Turkey relationship should be". #GiveHerASeat #EU #Turkey #womensrights pic.twitter.com/vGVFutDu0S
— Sergey Lagodinsky (@SLagodinsky) April 6, 2021
Von der Leyen's spokesperson Eric Mamer said, "President (von der Leyen) should have been seated in exactly the same manner as the president of the European Council and the Turkish president."
Sophie in 't Veld, a member of the European Parliament, also tweeted previous pictures where Erdoğan was seen to be hosting European Council and European Commission Presidents on equal seats. "And no, it wasn't a coincidence it was deliberate," she commented. (EKN/SD)
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