The Delegates consistently condemned the attempted coup d'état in Turkey that occurred on the night of July 15, 2016, and expressed solidarity with the country and victims' families. The Delegates welcomed Turkey's commitment to respect all international treaty obligations during the aftermath of the attempted coup d'état, as well as its assurances that the currently established state of emergency would be revoked as soon as possible. Turkey was invited by a number of Delegates to participate in an ongoing dialogue and to make a full use of the instruments of the Council of Europe, especially the Venice Commission, the European Committee against Torture and the expert group for the independence of the judiciary. Minister Çavuşoğlu simultaneously assured the Delegates that despite the evident will of the general public the Turkish Government will not resort to reintroduction of the death penalty.
At the same time, Deputy Minister Šrámek used his one-day visit to Strasbourg to attend bilateral meetings with top representatives of the Council of Europe. Discussions were held mainly concerning the forthcoming Czech Presidency of the Committee of Ministers (May-November 2017).