Assad's delegation stays away from Syria peace talks

GENEVA/BEIRUT – Talks on ending the six-year war in Syria resumed on Wednesday with no sign of President Bashar al-Assad's delegation returning to the negotiations in Geneva after they walked out last week.

A source close to the Syrian government's negotiating team told Reuters the delegation was still in Damascus on Wednesday.

The talks began last week and after a few days with little apparent progress, the UN mediator Staffan de Mistura said that the government delegation, led by Bashar al-Ja'afari, was returning to Damascus to "consult and refresh".

De Mistura expected talks to resume "around Tuesday", but Ja'afari left Geneva on Saturday and said he might not come back because the opposition had stated that Assad could not play a role in a future interim government.