Turkey and Armenia Sign Deal

Turkey and Armenia have agreed to establish normal diplomatic negotiations, after the deal was nearly thwarted by last-minute wrangling over its language. The neighboring countries have had chilly relations for a century, in large part because of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had planned to merely witness the signing ceremony in Switzerland, but when she arrived, the deal was crumbling. Clinton worked frantically till the last minute to resolve differences, and the countries’ foreign ministers eventually shook hands. Many Armenians insist there should be no agreement until Turkey admits the World War I-era killings were a genocide, which Turkey denies. The agreement stipulates that both countries will establish an international commission to research the war’s archives to clarify what really happened.