World IN BRIEF : MIDEAST : Syrian Reply Is Due on Talks With Israel

Prospects for renewing the Bush Administration’s drive for a Middle East peace conference brightened with word that Syria is expected to say soon whether it is prepared to hold negotiations with Israel. “We’ve been led to believe we would be receiving a response very, very soon,” Secretary of State James A. Baker III said at a White House briefing. He said there have been preliminary exchanges with Damascus on the peace conference that the Administration has proposed for settling both Israel’s dispute with its Arab neighbors and its relations with Palestinians.