The President of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen, experienced an embarrassing situation during an official visit to Turkey accompanied by the

President of the European Council, Charles Michel. During a three - way meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, she was forced to sit on a couch because she had no chair, as a video showed von der Leyen looking confused and surprised. This position infuriated Brussels. In return, Ankara took responsibility for the European side in this Israeli incident, asserting that the seating arrangements were at his suggestion.

Turkey held the European Union responsible for the presidential incident over seating arrangements that led to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen being left unseated for a moment during the meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan and Turkish officials were hit by a storm of criticism after video of the meeting with von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel in Ankara on went viral on social media.

The Hall, which was entered by the three leaders, had only two seats, with each other and the Turkish and European flags behind them.

Erdogan and Michel quickly sat on the chairs while von der Leyen, who is at the same diplomatic level, was left standing for a moment. The former German defense minister mumbled and appeared to be going in the video, as if she didn't know where to sit.

She was then seated on a sofa off Turkish Foreign Minister Mel Chauch Oglu, whose position is lower than in the protocol hierarchy.

Turkey denounced "unfair accusations" against it, asserting that seating arrangements had been proposed by the European side.

"The demands of the European Union have been respected. That means the seats were arranged at their request. The parties' departments of protocol met before the meeting and their demands were respected. " "Accusations against Turkey are unfair," he said.

The scene of the diplomatic incident drew widespread criticism, and the video was widely shared on social media. Under the hashtag Sofaget, many comments about unequal treatment among EU officials were published and were considered discriminatory against women.

The major political blocs in the European Parliament expressed regret at the scene of disunity that had emerged in Ankara between the heads of the Commission and the Council during their meeting with the Turkish President and asked them to come to explain the situation in plenary.

However, the Turkish Foreign Minister confirmed that his country knew how to follow the diplomatic protocol and had been implementing what had been agreed with the Brussels delegation.

"Turkey is a deeply rooted State and this is not the first time we have received foreign leaders at all levels," he said.

"Meetings, especially in Turkey, are held within the framework of the rules of the International Protocol and of Turkish hospitality," he added.

The objective of the meeting in Ankara was to improve relations between the parties after months of tension on several fronts. However, it ended with European accusations against Turkey on respect for women's rights, particularly after its withdrawal last month from a European convention against violence against women.

European Parliament Socialist Bloc President Iraci García Perez tweeted: "First they withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and now they leave the President of the European Commission without a seat on an official visit. It's shameful. "