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, saying it is important to be fair to “dictators”, saying conviction from Ankara.
Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel met Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday. The Commission chief was clearly surprised when the two men sat in the only two prepared chairs and relegated her to an adjacent bench.
“I absolutely disagree with Erdogan’s behavior towards President von der Leyen. … I think it was inappropriate behavior and I was very sorry for the humiliation that von der Leyen had to endure, ”Draghi told reporters.
“With this one, let’s call them what they are – dictators – with whom you have to coordinate nonetheless, you have to be honest when you express different views and opinions,” he added.
The Italian ambassador in Ankara was called to the Foreign Ministry over Draghi’s comments, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported, and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu slammed the comments.
“We strongly condemn the unacceptable, populist discourse of the appointed Italian Prime Minister Draghi and his ugly and uninhibited comments about our elected president,” Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter.
Earlier on Thursday, Cavusoglu said that seats at the meeting were set up in accordance with the bloc’s demands and international protocol and that Turkey was the subject of “unjust charges.”
Reporting by Angelo Amante, Gavin Jones and Daren Butler in Istanbul; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Will Dunham