WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Israel welcomed Syria's announcement on Sunday that it would attend a U.S.-hosted peace conference in Annapolis but stressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be the main focus of the meeting.

"Israel sees in a positive way the high-ranking participation of Syria in a conference which is clearly about the Israeli-Palestinian track, but could open additional avenues to peace in the Middle East," said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who arrived earlier in Washington. (Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Vicki Allen)

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