The eighth round of negotiations began last week and after a few days with little apparent progress, U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said 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” Dec. 5, 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.