BEIRUT - The Syrian government delegation has postponed its departure to UN-backed peace talks that are due to resume on Tuesday in Geneva, the pro-Syrian government newspaper al-Watan reported. The office of UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said it would not comment on the travel plans of the Syrian government. The al-Watan report cited diplomatic sources in Geneva saying the Syrian government was annoyed by a statement that emerged last week from a Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh. Syrian opposition groups stuck by a long-standing demand that President Bashar Assad be gone from power before a political transition. Damascus viewed the statement as a 'return to square one,' al-Watan reported.
