EU agrees to seek Syria WMD pledge for trade pact

[struggle4progress]

European Union states agreed on Wednesday to demand a firmer commitment from Syria renouncing weapons of mass destruction in return for signing a trade and aid pact with the Middle Eastern state, diplomats said.

The deal among EU ambassadors broke a five-month deadlock on the stalled agreement, just two weeks after U.S. President George W. Bush imposed sanctions on Damascus, accusing it of backing terrorism, seeking WMD and letting militants into Iraq.

The issue highlights transatlantic divergence over whether to engage with or isolate countries such as Syria and Iran.
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EU envoys endorsed more explicit articles on the fight against the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons to be put to Syria to clear the last stumbling block to a deal, a spokesman for the Irish EU presidency said.
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