Draghi calls Erdogan dictator after criticizing the "humiliation" of Von der Leyen in Ankara

The president of the Italian Council of Ministers, Mario Draghi, appeared before the press on Thursday to give an account of the chaos generated by the vaccination process.

The idea of ​​the press conference was to explain the reopening and management plans for the coming weeks, but a question about international politics has made the former ECB president frown.

"I do not share Erdogan's behavior.

I was very upset by the humiliation suffered by the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen ”, he pointed out.

Draghi has thus referred to the episode lived on Tuesday in Ankara, when Von der Leyen was forced to sit on a sofa quite a distance from the two armchairs reserved for the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Italian Prime Minister has gone further.

“With these dictators, whom we need to collaborate with, you have to be frank to affirm your own position, but also be prepared to cooperate for the interests of your own country.

You have to find a fair balance ”, he pointed out bluntly.

No recent Italian prime minister had referred to Erdogan as a "dictator."

Draghi's words, probably marked by his recent trip to Libya, where the interests of both countries intersect, may open a new incident with the always active Turkish diplomacy.

In fact, the affected country called its ambassador for consultations shortly after the press conference in Rome.

Furthermore, the Turkish foreign minister condemned the "ugly words" of the Italian prime minister.

Some unexpected and very harsh statements that will cause more tension in the somewhat tortuous relationship between the two countries.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, a party that is a member of the Italian Government, has called a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Rome on Friday.

The rudeness of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will be debated in the European Parliament.

The parliamentary groups of the European People's Party (EPP), the Social Democrats (S&D) and the Greens have asked this Thursday to debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament on the “recent diplomatic incident” in Ankara with the presence of Von der Leyen and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.

The institution chaired by the Belgian blames the "strict" protocol of Turkey for leaving Von der Leyen out of the chairs that presided over the meeting of the three leaders, although Ankara has warned that the European "demands" were met .

The European Commission has tried to bury the controversy by highlighting the "unity" that the two institutions showed to Erdogan.

The treatment given to Von der Leyen by the Turkish authorities - who reserved for Erdogan and Michel the two armchairs that presided over the room in which the three leaders met and relegated the German to a sofa - has caused outrage in the European Parliament .

The EPP, the S&D and the Greens have announced that they will ask at the next conference of presidents for a debate on what happened in Turkey.

Parliamentary sources affirm that the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, already has the formal request for its celebration.

The three groups have a sufficient majority to carry out the proposal, although Renew's liberals - Michel's party - have also shown their interest in this debate.

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The parliamentary groups have voiced many criticisms about what they consider a misogynistic attitude of Erdogan, but also about the divisions that the two European leaders showed on Tuesday.

The leader of the social democratic group, Iratxe García, has maintained through her Twitter account that “relations between the EU and Turkey are crucial, but the unity of the EU and respect for human rights, including women's rights They are also fundamental ”.

"We expect more from the EU's foreign policy," criticized Manfred Weber, chairman of the EPP group.

However, MEPs have also charged the President of the European Council, whom they blame for having remained silent while Von der Leyen regretted not having a chair.

Also those of Renew.

Michel released a text late Wednesday through his Facebook account in which he crossed out that scene as "regrettable" and denied having been "insensitive" to it.

“Michel posted on Facebook a text justifying his attitude that I don't know how to qualify.

He refers to the President of the Commission by her first name and there is not a single line of apology.

To write this, it is better not to have said anything ”, has settled the deputy of Los Verdes Ernest Urtasun (En Comú Podem).

The @eucopresident yesterday posted on Facebook this text justifying his attitude that I do not know how to qualify.

He refers to the President of the Commission by her first name and there is not a single line of apology.

To write this, it is better not to have said anything.

pic.twitter.com/IZ8AOWRydJ

- Ernest Urtasun (@ernesturtasun) April 8, 2021

The institution he presides has circulated this Thursday the note prepared by its director of protocol, Dominique Marro, in which he agrees with Michel that the origin of this incident was in "the strict interpretation by the Turkish services of the rules of protocol".

The note confirms that the Commission's protocol services were absent from that meeting.

Those responsible for the Council, the document continues, did have access to most of the spaces that the three leaders were going to visit, but they did not have access to the controversial room because "it was too close to the office of President Erdogan."

Turkey claims to comply with European demands

"We would have suggested that, as a courtesy, they replace the sofa with two armchairs for the president of the Commission [and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu, who also sat on a sofa]," the note states.

Marro affirms that the order of protocol established in the treaties - according to which the President of the Council has priority - "was followed" at all times.

“In general, the protocol for third countries makes a clear distinction between the status of the head of state, held by the president of the European Council, and the status of the prime minister, held by the president of the Commission;

this could have been the origin of the problem ”, he adds.

The Turkish government has added fuel to the fire and its foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, has stated that Ankara complied with all the “suggestions and demands” of the EU protocol team.

The Community Executive has not wanted to comment on these statements, but continues to consider that Von der Leyen and Michel have the same protocol rank, as reflected in all the meetings that both have in Brussels with leaders of third countries, and insisted that it will ensure that this situation does not happen again.

In an attempt to turn the page, the chief spokesman for the European Commission, Eric Mamer, thanked Michel's message on Facebook and highlighted the image of "unity" that, in his opinion, both leaders showed to Erdogan.

“It is extremely important that the EU shows unity when dealing with third countries and I believe, in substance, that the message that the two presidents gave to the Turkish authorities was characterized precisely by their unity, frankness and willingness to see how to improve the relationship with Turkey. ”.