The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe expressed their disappointment at Turkish authorities’ total disregard to the ruling by the European Court on Human Rights (UCHR) concerning the country’s obligation to pay compensation for those missing in Cyprus during the invasion of Turkish forces in 1974, as well Turkey’s infringement on Cypriot properties in the pseudo-Northern Turkish state.

The Committee of Ministers released a statement after convening on June 7-9, stressing that the matter of compensation by the Turkish government had been raised by General Secretary of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland in a letter to the Turkish Foreign Minister on April 28, however, Turkish authorities had completely ignored the matter.

The Committee of Ministers requested that the General Secretary intervene anew towards Turkey, while the statement called on Turkey to unconditionally comply with the rulings of the UCHR and pay up the money it owes to the victims without further delay. The matter of the illegally occupied private properties in the northern part of Cyprus of the displaced legal owners is expected to be re-examined in March 2017.