TWENTY-SIXTH ORDINARY SESSION
RESOLUTION 573 (1974)1
on the situation in Cyprus and in the Eastern Mediterranean area The Assembly,

1. Recalling that the aim of the Council of Europe is to "achieve a greater unity between its Members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress", and to promote peaceful co-operation among all nations;
2. Condemning the coup d'etat carried out in Cyprus by officers owing allegiance to the Greek military dictatorship;
3. Regretting the failure of the attempt to reach a diplomatic settlement which led the Turkish Government to exercise its right of intervention in accordance with Article 4 of the Guarantee Treaty of 1960;
4. Bearing in mind the resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council on 20 July 1974, the reactions of the countries directly involved in the conflict, which have agreed to meet in Geneva, and the common position adopted by the member states of the European Community and the NATO Council;
5. Expresses the hope that the three signatory states of the Treaty of Guarantee can reach early agreement in Geneva on a permanent ceasefire and a fair, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Cyprus problem, which should take account of the legitimate needs and rights of the two communities of the island and of the vital interest of the countries concerned by the conflict, and would contribute to the elimination of the main causes of friction between the two communities, as well as between Turkey and Greece;
6. Considers that the two ethnic communities in Cyprus should be fully associated with all negotiations concerning the future of the island;
7. Calls upon the signatory states to guarantee the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of Cyprus, including an improved status, guaranteeing the security and the rights of the Turkish community, as well as the political independence of a democratically governed Cyprus, as laid down when Cyprus became independent in 1960;
8. Calls in particular for:
   • the re-establishment of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
   • respect and a formal guarantee of the rights of the ethnic communities, in order to assure a lasting peace between the Greeks and Turks of the island;
   • the holding of free and democratic elections as soon as possible;
9. Hopes, in particular, that the government of Turkey and a future democratic Government of Greece will co-operate closely in finding common solutions for the political future of Cyprus as well as for other problems in the Eastern Mediterranean area;
10. Looks forward to welcoming in the very near future a parliamentary delegation including Greek and Turkish representatives of the Cypriot population;
11. Warmly welcomes the replacement of the Greek military dictatorship by a civilian government, the liberation of political prisoners, the liquidation of concentration camps and the abolishing of censorship as important steps towards a restoration of parliamentary democracy;
12. Looks forward to welcoming Greece back into the Council of Europe as soon as she has returned to democracy in accordance with the Assembly's Resolution 558 of January 1974.