Italian PM calls Erdoğan ‘a dictator’ after Ursula von der Leyen chair snub

Diplomatic spat erupts as Mario Draghi accuses Turkish president of humiliating European commision president

A diplomatic spat has erupted between Turkey and Italy, after prime minister Mario Draghi accused president Recep Tayyip Erdoan of humiliating European commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and described him as a dictator".

Von der Leyen - the commission's first female president - was left without a chair during a meeting on Tuesday with Erdoan and the European council president Charles Michel met Erdoan. The commission chief was clearly taken aback when the two men sat on the only two chairs prepared, relegating her to an adjacent sofa.