ZURICH , Switzerland ( CNN ) -- Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement Saturday night establishing diplomatic relations after nearly a century of animosity . Armenian and Turkish ministers sign accord as dignitaries , including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , look on . The signing was delayed because of Armenian objections to the wording of a final oral statement intended to be given after the signing . However , neither the Armenians nor the Turks gave a closing statement after the signing . No further details were immediately available . The agreement will open their common border within two months after it is ratified by each country 's parliament . The border has been closed since 1993 . Turkish-Armenian relations are often overshadowed by the dispute over the massacre of ethnic Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire , more than 90 years ago . Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing genocide , killing more than a million Armenians beginning in 1915 . Turkey vehemently rejects these allegations . A complicating issue is the `` frozen conflict '' in neighboring Nagorno-Karabakh , an ethnically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan . Turkey closed its border with Armenia after Armenia attacked Azerbaijan over the territory . Watch report on the signing from CNN 's Ivan Watson » . During the U.S. presidential campaign , then-candidate Barack Obama called for passage of the Armenian genocide resolution . Since his election , he has stepped back from the issue .
It was signed , and no closing argument was made . Agreement normalizes relations between the rival nations . Accord will open negotiations within two months of ratification . Violence dates back to Ottoman Empire ; Armenians accuse Turks of genocide .