ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey is rejecting accusations that it snubbed Ursula von der Leyen — one of the European Union’s most powerful executives — during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because of her gender. Turkey’s foreign minister insisted Thursday that the EU’s own protocol “requests” were applied during a visit by the EU Commission president and European Council chief Charles Michel. Images of the visit showed Michel and Erdogan taking up seats in front of EU and Turkish flags, with von der Leyen being forced to sit on a sofa away from the men. The images drew intense criticism on social media and accusations of gender discrimination.
