April 28 2021 Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Biljic responded to the seating arrangements during a visit to Turkey by the two EU leaders earlier this month.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with visiting European Council President Michel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Von der Leyen in the capital Ankara on June 6. At the meeting at the presidential palace, a chair was placed in front of the Turkish and EU flags. Erdogan and Michel then took the initiative to sit in a chair, and Von der Leyen had to sit on a sofa a little further away from the two men. Turkish officials have “received” two EU leaders in a chair, drawing eu resentment.
Mr Birgic said the seating arrangements at the time had nothing to do with women’s status, the Istanbul Convention or the status of the European Commission. Problems with seating arrangements are the result of a lack of coordination and negligence among EU concierges. There is no point in any malicious or ulterior motive in this matter. Turkey was pleased that the President of the European Commission had been replaced for the first time by a woman and considered it an important step towards the empowerment and equal rights of women.
European Commission President Von der Leyen on the 26th local time again expressed dissatisfaction with the incident, saying that “only because they are women will be treated like this, which shows that we have a long way to go before women are treated fairly.” Earlier, on March 20, local time, Turkey pulled out of Europe’s first Istanbul Convention aimed at combating violence against women, drawing criticism.
