1954 in the Vietnam War was a Catholic appointed to rule a country that was predominantly Buddhist. In the words of one historian, "Diệm's attractiveness to his first American patrons derived from three qualities: he was a certified anti-communist nationalist, he was a Roman Catholic, and he understood English." English language ability was rare among Vietnamese at the time. 21 July The Geneva Accords were signed in Paris. The accords called for a cease fire in the war, the independence of Vietnam, its division at the 17th parallel of latitude into two provisional states, North Vietnam and the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and the
Treaty of Alexandropol The latter treaty was further ratified as the Treaty of Kars, signed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and, at Soviet Russia's insistence, the three (now Soviet) republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Treaty of Alexandropol The Treaty of Alexandropol (; ) was a peace treaty between the First Republic of Armenia and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ending the Turkish-Armenian War that had begun on 12 September 1920 with an invasion of Armenia by Turkish forces led by Kazim Karabekir. It was signed by the Armenian Foreign Minister Alexander Khatisyan in the early hours of 3 December