Europe to Seek Syria Trade Deal

The EU is to pursue its own trade agreement with Syria despite a US decision to impose sanctions - though differences between member states are still blocking a deal.

EU foreign ministers are to resume talks on the agreement next week, but Britain and Germany are still demanding tougher conditions on wea-pons of mass destruction.

Washington banned all exports to Syria other than food and medicine on Tuesday, accusing Damascus of supporting terrorism, pursuing WMD and undermining efforts on Iraq.

Syria condemned the move as Britain said it shared US concerns but wanted "critical and constructive engagement".

The EU's association agreement with Syria has been stalled since the end of last year, with London and Berlin demanding a more explicit commitment from Damascus to denounce WMD.

The EU decided last year to make renunciation of WMD a standard feature of its trade and aid agreements with third countries. But Damascus has protested that there is no such requirement on Israel, whose nuclear weapons are not mentioned in a pre-existing agreement with Brussels.

Responding to the US sanction, a spokesman for the senior commissioner Chris Patten, said: "It is clear we share the same objectives as the US [on] human rights, terrorism, democracy and WMD. But ... we do not share the same tactical approach."

EU diplomats have accused Britain and Germany of following a US agenda by trying to block the agreement.

The agreement is one of a series the EU has signed with other Arab countries and Israel dating from 1995. Syria has already benefited from some €440m (£295m) in loans from the EU.

But the White House said the president would consider additional sanctions unless Syria took steps to end support for Islamist militant groups, including Hamas and Hizbullah, withdraw its troops from Lebanon, cease WMD development, and cooperate fully with efforts to stabilise Iraq.