Ursula von der Leyen is let stand by her male counterparts in Turkey

In a video of the awkward moment in Ankara, von der Leyen looks uncertain about where to sit, gestures with her right hand and says ‘ehm’ while Erdogan and European Council President Charles Michel take their seats.

Von der Leyen was eventually offered a seat at a bench nearby, opposite Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who holds a lower status in diplomatic protocol.

In previous meetings, the three presidents have all sat together.

Eric Mamer, chief spokesman for the European Commission, said von der Leyen “was clearly surprised and that is something you can see from the video.” He added that “it is difficult to determine the reasons why she was offered one type of seat rather than another, this is something you should ask the Turkish authorities about.”

Mamer said Turkey was responsible for arranging the meeting.

He added that, as far as the Commission’s opinion abroad is concerned, the level of protocol of our President is exactly the same as that of the President of the European Council. Our president is a member of the European Council. in her own right and in general, normally, when she goes abroad, she is treated in exactly the same way as the President of the European Council would be. ‘

As leader of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union and most powerful institution, von der Leyen is one of the most influential women in the bloc. She previously served as the Minister of Defense in Germany.

The diplomatic hiccup is particularly uncomfortable due to the recent EU condemnation of Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty aimed at preventing violence against women.

CNN has reached out to both the EU Council and the Turkish presidency for comment.