Turkey blasted Thursday of “unfair accusations” after the protocol affront felt by the president of the European Commission in Ankara, affirming that the arrangement of the armchairs at the heart of the controversy had been suggested by the European side.
“The EU's demands have been respected.
This means that the seating arrangement was made at their request.
Our protocol services met before the meeting and their requests (from the EU) were respected, ”Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday at a press conference in Ankara.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen was placed Tuesday by the protocol on a couch during a meeting of the presidents of the European institutions with the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, was seated in an armchair near the Turkish head of state.
The scene was filmed and widely broadcast on social media.
Under the hashtag #Sofagate, she sparked many comments on the unequal treatment between the two heads of the European institutions, and its sexist character.
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Ursula von der Leyen deprived of a seat against Erdogan: Turkey criticizes "unfair accusations"
The major political groups of the European Parliament deplored Thursday the image of disunity given by the presidents of the institutions during their meeting with the Turkish president and asked them to come and explain themselves in plenary.
This rebuff also sparked indignant reactions in Europe implicating Turkey, especially since it came just weeks after Ankara's withdrawal from a European convention on the prevention of violence against women.
The most virulent comments were made by the French political class, at a time when relations between Paris and Ankara were marked by strong tensions.
“These are pictures that hurt!
I do not want a naive, fragile Europe, ”lamented Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune.
"It is an affront that will be corrected, but we must not let this kind of thing happen," he added on BFM Business on Wednesday evening.