As expected, the Geneva-2 peace talks ended up to nothing. The barbed wires between government and oppositions were stretched further. Talks on transitional government never got a chance to appear on the negotiating table, ceasefire was not agreed and a deal to allow aid into besieged rebel-held areas of the central Homs city went nowhere. The week-long closed door negotiation circulated around tit-for-tat accusation of who is responsible for the conflict that according to particular resources claim around 130,000 lives.

The prospective of next round of negotiation also veiled in suspicion as the cloud around a horizon of negotiation success got darkened. Though, Lakhdar Brahimi UN mediator who orchestrated the first meeting between the two sides said that he aimed to host a second round of talks starting on Feb. 10, but Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said there were no “tangible results” from the Geneva talks, and that Assad and his government would ponder whether it made sense to return for a second round. However, opposition Chief Ahmad Al Jarba confirmed his team would be back though he compared sitting with government representative as drinking poison.

Neither of the negotiating sides seemed to budge an inch from their long-held positions in Geneva, where the talks revolved around a never-implemented roadmap to peace drawn up by world powers in 2012. The opposition insists that transitional government called for in text as the Geneva Communique, requires the step down of President Assad, the thing which is strongly rejected by opposition. The government insists that the main focus of the Geneva talks must be on quelling the violence and terrorism for which it blames the opposition. “Neither in this round, nor in the next will they obtain any concessions from the Syrian delegation,” Information Minister Omran Al Zohbi told applauding pro-regime demonstrators outside the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva where the talks were held.

Similarly, President Assad before the commencement of the Geneva-2 talks clearly voiced out that he would not step down. He said if he wanted to leave the power, he would have done it before.

So, seemingly none sides has intention to compromise and held constructive steps toward restoration of peace. Each side seek peace in eradication of the other which, at least, at the present situation is not possible because there is somehow a power balance. The thing which remains ahead as option is sincere cooperation of international community to end the deadlock through exercise of influence.