It’s now or never for Cyprus reunification, says top UN official

UN special representative for divided island says time is running out to settle decades-long dispute

Efforts to reunite Cyprus are approaching a decisive moment, a top UN official has said, as he urged leaders on both sides to show political courage and warned civil society groups: “It’s now or never.”

In a week marking 60 years since the arrival of a UN peacekeeping force on the eastern Mediterranean island, Colin Stewart, the UN’s special representative in Cyprus, said time was running out to settle the decades-long dispute.