The Greek Cypriot side saw the Council of Europe’s property decision as a diplomatic success

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe’s decision on the property rights of Greek Cypriots sparked widespread reaction in the island’s Greek press and was described by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus as an important diplomatic victory. During the meeting in Strasbourg, a fierce diplomatic showdown unfolded between the Greek and Turkish delegations, as a result of which Ankara failed to achieve the closure of the monitoring process.
Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus Constantinos Kombos said that the main achievement was blocking Turkey’s attempts to end the review of its compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding Greek Cypriot property. According to the minister, closing this process would have meant recognizing that Ankara had fully fulfilled its obligations to the refugees. Kombos recalled that in 2022 Turkey came closest to completing this procedure, falling just two votes short.
The Greek side sees the launch of the process of preparing an official request by the Council of Europe Secretariat to the ECHR for further interpretation and examination of the case as the second important success. Well-known lawyer Achilles Demetriades, who represented Greek Cypriots in many landmark cases before the ECHR, including the Loizidou case, confirmed the significance of this step. He clarified that the decision is directly linked to the Xenides-Arestis group of cases and requires the necessary documents to be prepared by the end of June.
As a result, thanks to the support of major European states such as France and Italy, Turkish initiatives were rejected by a majority vote in four consecutive ballots. Under the adopted decision, Turkey will remain under enhanced supervision by the Council of Europe on this issue for at least another year.