The Committee of Ministers' Deputies' of the Council of Europe adopted a third Interim Resolution concerning the Loizidou case on 26 June 2001. As with the two previous Interim Resolutions, this third Interim Resolution too is predicated on a wrong and dysfunctional approach to this issue.

As a founding member of the Council of Europe, commitment to the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms is an unfailing principle for Turkey. The Loizidou case however, is not one concerning human rights; it is of a political nature and based on political argumentation. These facts are omitted in the Interim Resolution.

The interlocutor of the case is not Turkey, but the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Turkey has neither the capacity nor the jurisdiction to execute the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the Lozidou case.

The Interim Resolution disregards the exceptional nature of the case, something confirmed by the ECHR itself. Furthermore, it fails to take due account of the efforts deployed in the Committee in order to find a solution to the issue.

This Interim Resolution reveals that the Committee of Ministers' Deputies has not yet reached a position to discharge its responsibilities as the political body responsible for supervising the execution of the judgements of the ECHR.

We nonetheless, expect the Committee to prefer, in the future, to try to contribute positively to the search for a solution, taking into consideration the exceptional dimensions of the problem. Turkey is determined to protect the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe and to prevent their exploitation for political ends.