'Sofagate': Turkey rejects claims it snubbed Ursula von der Leyen, passes the buck to EU

Turkey on April 8 strongly rejected accusations that it snubbed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen because of her gender. During their Ankara visit, Von der Leyen was taken aback to find her fellow top EU Official taking the only chair available next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A video showed Charles Michel and Erdogan taking the chairs as Von der Leyen stood looking at both the men, expressing her astonishment with a “ehm” and a gesture of disappointment. 

The video drew intense criticism and accusations of gender discrimination. However, according to the Associated Press, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey had come under “extremely unfair” criticism. He insisted that the EU’s own protocol requests were applied during the meeting at the Turkish Presidential Palace. He even added that he felt obliged to lay the blame on the EU publicly following accusations against Turkey from even the “highest level of the EU”. 

“Turkey is a deep-rooted state and this is not the first time that it has hosted a visitor. The protocol applied during its (international) meetings is in line with international protocol rules as well as the world-renowned Turkish hospitality traditions,” Cavusoglu said. 

He added, “The protocol that was applied during the narrow-scope meeting that was held at our president’s office met the requests of the EU side. In other words, such a seating arrangement was made in line with the suggestions of the EU side. Period”. 

Von der Leyen ‘surprised by arrangements’ 

Meanwhile, following the incident, Von der Leyen’s spokesman Eric Mamer said that Von der Leyen was “surprised by the arrangements”. Mamer said that the EU chief should have been seated together with Michel and Erdogan. He added that Von der Leyen, however, decided to proceed as she prioritized “substance over protocol”. Mamer even said that Von der Leyen had asked her team to make contacts to ensure that the incident is not repeated in the future. 

In a separate statement, Michel said that the embarrassment was the result of the “strict interpretation” by Turkish services of protocol rules. He regretted the “differentiated, even diminished, treatment of the president of the European Commission”. In a statement, he said that although TV images could have given the impression he was “insensitive” to Von der Leyen’s uncomfortable situation. “Nothing could be further from reality, nor from his deepest feelings - or indeed from the principles of respect which I hold so dear," he said.

(With inputs from AP)