Turkey, Armenia sign historic accord

[Faygo Kid]

Source: Associated Press

ZURICH – Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark agreement Saturday to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.

The contentious issue of whether the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted to genocide is only hinted at in the agreement.

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the accord in the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three hours later than scheduled and there were no spoken statements.

Clinton and mediators from Switzerland intervened to help broker a solution, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity, in keeping with State Department regulations. Better ties between Turkey, a regional heavyweight, and poor, landlocked Armenia have been a priority for President Barack Obama, and Clinton had flown to Switzerland to witness the signing, not help close the deal. . .

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_turkey_armenia

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Thank you, Hillary. Great job and commitment to seeing this happen. Historic.

Thanks to President Obama, too, even if it is all about that "peace" stuff.

[uppityperson]

1. K&R.

[bemildred]

2. Good job. nt

[tomm2thumbs]

3. progress is a thing of beauty

[proud patriot]

4. Very Cool

:thumbsup:

[krispos42]

5. Another embarassment to the Obama administration, I see

:sarcasm:

[Beacool]

6. Thank you Hillary!!

As usual, a job well done.

:applause:

[impik]

7. Oh, what do you know

The Obama administration continue its war mongering...

Congrats to both countries, well done Hillary.

[Bette Noir]

8. !!!!!!

[emilyg]

9. Super. Go Hillary!

[Hekate]

10. Way to go, Secretary of State Hillary!

:applause:

[underpants]

17. Exactly way to go Hillary. It is nice to have competent people in place isn't it?

Well done Hillary..and Obama-someone should give that guy an award or something

[Libertas1776]

11. Good

Let's hope it lasts.

[kestrel91316]

12. Another Obama FAIL. What a looser!!1!!!1!!!!

:rofl:

He has done NOTHING!!!! to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize!!!!!! (insert spewing spittle here)

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

13. This is fantastic news

Nice to see that our country can still play such a positive role in the world. Props to Obama and co. on this one.

[indimuse]

14. KNR!!

:)

[Wetzelbill]

15. What an embarrasment!

How will the Obama administration recover?

[AllyCat]

16. How many more minutes before the right wing nuts start trashing her?

Good job Madam Secretary!

[AnnieBW]

18. GO HILLARY!!!

You go, girl! I wasn't for her for Prez, but I think that she's truly found her calling as SecState.

[valerief]

19. Bravo.

[JNelson6563]

20. Rock on Madam Secretary!

:toast: :patriot:

[Turbineguy]

21. A functioning Secretary of State.

What a concept!

Did she get their flight and seat numbers?

[L. Coyote]

22. Congrats Turkey and Armenia. May you enjoy eternal peace.

[xchrom]

23. wow. thank you mrs clinton. nt

[knitter4democracy]

24. I'm still shocked.

I mean, I saw this yesterday and was shocked. I saw it again today and am still shocked. Wow. Just wow.

[Faygo Kid]

25. It's a breathtaking development.

Wonderful stuff.

[HughMoran]

26. This Armenian like this

Good to see some progress made with Turkey - it's been a looong time coming.

[eissa]

27. This Assyrian doesn't

Lost many relatives in the genocide. Peace is always good, but a simple apology would have been nice. Guess that's too much to ask from the turks.

Inch bisses? My mother-in-law is Armenian :hi:

[No Elephants]

29. I have first cousins (maternal) who are half Armenian and an Assyrian auntie-in-law (paternal) and

I am very grateful for any kind of progress. Let's just hope and pray it lasts.

[No Elephants]

28. Congratulations to all involved. These wounds run deep and long.