UN official says world body committed to Cyprus peace deal

A senior United Nations official says the world body remains committed to helping rival Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots reach an agreement remedying the island nation's ethnic cleave that has been the source of instability in the east Mediterranean for decades. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said Wednesday that she reiterated to new Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides the "commitment of the Secretary-General to supporting a resolution on the Cyprus issue." The U.N. has been facilitating talks between the two sides for nearly a half-century without success. Any deal would be seen as removing a political thorn vexing the international community for decades at a time.