Turkey and Armenia have signed a historic accord normalizing relations after a century of hostility.

The deal was signed by the two foreign ministers after last-minute problems delayed the ceremony in Switzerland.

Under the agreement, Turkey and Armenia are to resume diplomatic ties and re-open their shared border.

The accord has been met by protests in Armenia, where many people say it does not fully address the 1915 killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians.

Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the killings as an act of genocide, but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.

The agreement calls for a joint commission of independent historians to study the genocide issue.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, signed the protocols in Switzerland after a delay of more than three hours.

The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Zurich says the Armenians had apparently raised objections to a statement due to be read out by the Turkish delegation.

The accord needs to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.

The ceremony was attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

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