BRUSSELS, 19 October 2004 — Syria and the European Union will initial a key trade and political agreement today, paving the way for closer ties after talks were stalled for a year over disagreements over weapons of mass destruction. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara will initial the association agreement in Brussels, putting Damascus on the same footing as all other members of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, a 12-member group of the EU’s southern neighbors.

The pact, which would give Syria greater access to EU markets in exchange for progress on human rights and other core EU values, highlights the European policy of engagement in contrast to the US use of sanctions against Damascus.

It was originally agreed last December but the EU, prompted by Britain, Germany and Denmark, insisted on including a passage on non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological arms, which Damascus declined to sign.

Negotiators have been working to bridge the gap since then and the EU’s executive Commission announced last month that they had agreed a new wording on weapons.

Syrian authorities played down the significance of today’s signing, noting the EU’s 25 foreign ministers would still have to approve the agreement before it took effect. “Let’s not exaggerate, they’re only initialing what the negotiators have agreed,” Syrian Embassy spokesman Jihad Makdissi told Reuters. “Now the ball is in the court of the European side,” he said, adding that he hoped EU foreign ministers would approve it before the end of the year.

A spokesman for the Dutch EU presidency said the Syrian agreement would not be on the agenda at a foreign minister’s meeting on Nov. 2, but could appear at the next meeting in late November, or in December.

While the EU seeks to improve ties with Syria, the United States is considering tightening economic sanctions to pressure Damascus to pull troops out of neighboring Lebanon and crack down on terrorism — highlighting a difference in the EU and US approaches to politically sensitive third countries.

“The application of additional sanctions under the Syrian Accountability Act is an option,” a senior Bush administration official said on Friday, even though Secretary of State Colin Powell recently praised Damascus for being more cooperative on stopping militants entering Iraq.