After Sofagate, it’s now Ursula von der Leyen in the hot seat, facing questions about diplomatic protocol.
Diplomats say the European Commission president apparently broke convention by having her cabinet chief, Björn Seibert, reply to an official invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The revelation comes amid days of debate about proper diplomatic procedure following last week’s so-called Sofagate scandal in Ankara, in which von der Leyen was relegated to a couch while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and European Council President Charles Michel sat in stately chairs.
