ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of humiliating European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week and saying it was important to openly be with ‘dictators’, and arouse condemnation from Ankara.
Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel met with Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday. The head of the Commission was clearly surprised when the two men sat prepared on the only two chairs and moved her to an adjoining bench.
“I do not agree at all with Erdogan’s behavior towards President von der Leyen. “I think it was not appropriate behavior and I was very sorry for the humiliation that von der Leyen had to suffer,” Draghi told reporters.
“Let’s call them what they are – dictators – with whom one has to coordinate, and to be honest when you express different visions and opinions,” he adds.
The Italian ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry over Draghi’s comments, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported, and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made the remarks.
“We strongly condemn the incumbent Italian Prime Minister Draghi’s unacceptable, populist speech and his ugly and unbridled comments about our elected president,” Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter.
Earlier Thursday, Cavusoglu said the seat had been arranged during the meeting in accordance with the demands and the international protocol of the bloc and that Turkey was being subjected to “unfair accusations”.
Reporting by Angelo Amante, Gavin Jones and Daren Butler in Istanbul; Edited by Crispian Balmer and Will Dunham