UN has received letter from Syria that is a first step on joining the chemical weapons treaty.

The United Nations has received a document from Syria that is a first step toward joining the chemical weapons treaty.

The letter is in the process of being translated, U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said Thursday — two days after Syria announced that it was prepared to sign the international treaty it long has rejected.

The Chemical Weapons Convention bans the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. The convention requires all parties to the treaty to declare and destroy whatever chemical weapons they may possess.