Read this: One significant part of treaty making is that signing a treaty implies recognition that the other side is a sovereign state and that the agreement being considered is enforceable under international law. Hence, nations can be very careful about terming an agreement to be a treaty. For example, within the United States, agreements between states are compacts and agreements between states and the federal government or between agencies of the government are memoranda of understanding.

Nations can be careful about terming an agreement a treaty because it has the effect of recognizing that the other side is a what?
What is the answer? (If it cannot be answered, return "unanswerable")
a sovereign state