The European Union and the United States have formally welcomed the deal on bilateral relations signed on October 10 2009 by Turkey and Armenia, but the accord faces an uncertain future against a background of misgivings in the two countries, and concern elsewhere in the region.
 
The EU said that it welcomed the signing of the two protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, including the opening of the common border.
 
"The EU encourages Armenia and Turkey to remain committed to the process of normalisation and calls for the ratification and implementation the protocols as soon as possible."
 
The bloc’s statement said that the EU believes that the full normalisation of bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey would be "an important contribution to security, stability and co-operation throughout this crucial region and will continue to offer its political and technical support to this process".
 
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was among high-powered witnesses at the signing ceremony, said: "We, obviously, are committed to doing everything we can to build on the milestone that was reached today, but it's challenging.
 
"And there is a lot of very difficult, complex issues that have to continually be discussed and worked out. But I am very pleased that we were able to get the protocols signed, and now we move on to the next phase of this," Clinton said.
 
Strong differences between the neighbouring countries stem from the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces during and after World War 1, the Voice of America said.
 
Analysts say strong domestic opposition to the accord in both Armenia and Turkey will likely slow the ratification process, VOA said.
 
Clinton spent several hours on October 10 working to resolve a last-minute dispute over statements to be made at the signing ceremony in the Swiss city of Zurich. In the end, neither Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian nor his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, spoke after signing the protocols to restore diplomatic ties and to reopen their sealed border.
 
OSCE chairman Greek prime minister George Papandreou said in a statement on October 11 that he commended the effort and political will leaders of the two countries had invested to overcome differences and work towards a more secure and stable region.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry, in an October 11 statement, welcomed the signing as a step to remove barriers to the development of relations between Turkey and Armenia and to contribute to strengthening peace and good neighbourliness in the region of South Caucasus and the Black Sea.
 
But Azerbaijan criticised the agreement, saying it raises doubts about regional stability, the BBC said on October 11.
 
The Azerbaijani foreign ministry said that Turkey should not have normalised ties without a deal over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
During the war there in 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia out of solidarity for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's government wants Armenia to withdraw troops from Nagorno-Karabach and return land.
 
The Nagorno-Karabakh issue figured in a statement on October 11 by Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that may prove a herald of the complications that could lie ahead.
 
Erdogan said that the deal would stand a better chance of being approved by Turkey’s parliament if Armenia withdrew its claim to the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
 
"We as a government paved the way for this co-operation, but whether or not it will be applied is up to parliament to decide," Erdogan told a party congress in Ankara.