Syria to attend Middle East conference

By Jeffrey Heller and Mohammed Assadi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Syria said on Sunday it would join a U.S.-led conference to launch talks on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, boosting President George W. Bush's long-shot hopes for a peace deal before he steps down.

"The broad attendance at this conference by regional states and other key international participants demonstrates the international resolve to seize this important opportunity to advance freedom and peace in the Middle East," said Bush in a statement after Syria had said it would come.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Bush at the White House on Monday and then attend Tuesday's conference in nearby Annapolis, Maryland, that is expected to kick off formal negotiations to end the six-decade conflict.

The meeting represents Bush's most serious effort to solve the dispute seven years after his predecessor Bill Clinton failed to broker a settlement.

"I remain personally committed to implementing my vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," said Bush, whose term ends in January 2009.

All sides have played down the chances of a breakthrough at the conference or soon after. Illustrating the challenges, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice invited top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to dinner on Sunday to try to get a deal on a joint document meant to be presented at Annapolis.

In a sign it may not be possible to craft one, Palestinian, Israeli and U.S. officials played down the significance of such a document and said the most important thing was that Annapolis should be the starting point for substantive peace talks.

"I don't think there is a chance to have one," Nabil Shaath, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team, told Reuters. Other Palestinian officials said Bush's invitation to them offered enough of an outline to begin peace negotiations.