Will the winners of the next Nobel Peace Prize be the leaders of adversaries Turkey and Armenia?

It's not every day that two neighboring but not neighborly countries agree to overcome a century of deep hostility, especially states that sit at one of the world's most strategic "“ and volatile "“ crossroads.

In Zurich, diplomats from both countries "“ one a Christian nation and the other Muslim "“ signed an historic agreement Oct. 10 to normalize relations and open their border. Included was a provision for a historical commission to look at the deeply divisive issue of up to 1.5 million Armenians killed during the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

Impoverished Armenia, the tiniest of the...