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Ankara mayor chews gum in retaliation against Sarkozy

The mayor of Turkey’s capital, Ankara, was chewing gum as he saw off Nicolas Sarkozy at the end of his visit to Turkey. Mayor Melih Gokcek said he did so in retaliation to a similar disrespect by the French president when he arrived.

Reuters/Murad Sezer
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Gokcek, who was part of the delegation that greeted Sarkozy at the airport during his brief visit to Turkey on Friday, told the Anatolia news agency that the President came down the steps chewing gum.

“He stopped for a moment, looked around and continued to chew... I personally was
offended," Gokcek said, adding that Sarkozy had shown previous disrespect to Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul, when he was in France, though he did not elaborate on the details of that incident.

“Someone had to respond. I believe I responded diplomatically,” he said, about his chewing gum as he saw the French president off.

Sarkozy has long been an opponent of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, and he reiterated his objections on Friday’s visit. He visited Turkey in his capacity as the head of the G20.

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