Italian Premier Mario Draghi has angered Ankara by calling Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan a dictator in a press conference on Thursday.
The Turkish government rapidly summoned the Italian ambassador to Ankara to express its disapproval of the comments, which Draghi made in relation to the 'sofagate' case regarding the failure to provide a seat for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a meeting on Tuesday.
"I am really sorry about the humiliation that the commission president had to suffer with these, let's call them for what they are, dictators," Draghi said.
The Italian premier said the EU had to be frank with figures like Erdogan, stressing the differences in outlook while at the same time being ready to cooperate.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the comments "ugly and unreasonable" and said they should be taken back.
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