'EU seating incident in Turkey unrelated to gender'

ANKARA

An awkward moment over seating arrangements when EU leaders visited Turkey earlier this month stemmed from mistakes and miscommunication among the EU protocol staff, not from any gender issues from Turkey, a top Turkish official said on Wednesday.

“The seating arrangement debate that occurred following the visit of the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission to our country has no connection with being either European or a woman,” said a statement by Tanju Bilgic, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson, referring to the April 6 visit.

Nor did it have any connection with the Istanbul Convention, said Bilgic, referring to a pact on protecting women Turkey withdrew from last month.

In leaving the pact, Turkey said that in some respects it threatened local values, but that the Turkish legal system is “dynamic and strong enough” to protect women without the need for the convention.

Telling how the Turkish side in the capital Ankara strictly met the requests of their European counterparts, Bilgic said no differentiation was made in the protocol arrangements based on the genders of the visiting officials – Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU Commission, and EU Council chief Charles Michel.

“As such, no one should question the hospitality and experience of Turkey, which has a deep-rooted tradition of diplomacy, in hosting delegations,” he said.

“Turkey is pleased that the Presidency of the EU Commission has been taken over by a woman for the first time and believes that this constitutes an important step in women's empowerment and equal rights,” he added.

“Our President has a close and friendly relation with Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen based on mutual trust and respect.”

The statement also decried how the “regrettable” incident that “originated from EU’s internal political quarrels and whose every detail is known by the EU officials” is still being used as political fodder and being illicitly linked to supposed gender discrimination by Turkey.

Turkey hopes EU institutions will reach a consensus among themselves to avoid similar incidents in the future, said Bilgic.

During the top EU officials’ visit to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, there was momentary confusion over where von der Leyen would sit.

Turkish officials have repeatedly said that they strictly followed protocol instructions from the EU side.

Extensive reporting on the issue strongly suggests that miscommunication on the EU side – due in part to von der Leyen’s protocol team staying in Brussels due to the COVID-19 pandemic – was responsible for the confusion, and that Turkey played no part in the incident.