(VOVworld) -  Syrian talks aiming to broker a political end to the five-year crisis will continue despite the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) pulling out of formal talks on Tuesday.

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, second left, Deputy Special Envoy for Syria attends a meeting with Syrian ambassador to the UN and Head of the government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari, third left, during Syria peace talks at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Denis Balibouse/Pool Photo via AP)

The head of the Syrian government delegation, Bashar al-Jaafari, addressed the press on Wednesday following his meeting with the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy.

Bashar added that the HNC’s withdrawal may remove a major obstacle and create a new opportunity for the rest to reach a solution.

Earlier the HNC head Riyad Hijab said he and a number of members of the opposition delegation to the Syria peace talks had begun to leave Geneva on Wednesday. The others plan to leave on Friday. Despite this, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said the talks would continue to take place this week while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed that the negotiations were not yet suspended.