Formal, face-to-face talks will resume today between Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority over development rights at the World Trade Center following initial discussions yesterday.

There was no indication from Silverstein Properties or the Port Authority that a formal proposal had been introduced to solve the deadlock over how to develop the 16-acre site.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the executive director of the Port Authority, Kenneth Ringler, an appointee of Governor Pataki, was involved in “discussions” yesterday with representatives from Silverstein Properties to lay out a framework for negotiations to move forward today.

The source said the Port Authority is wary of working with concrete proposals at this stage in the negotiations. Instead, officials were seeking to frame the groundwork for a deal that would likely be accepted by both parties.

The Port Authority, which leased the twin towers site to Mr. Silverstein for 99 years, has a 12-person board composed of six members appointed by the governor of New Jersey and six members appointed by the governor of New York. Several sources familiar with the negotiations have said that divisions between board members from the different states have complicated negotiations.

Mr. Silverstein has been seeking to resume discussions with the Port Authority after it abruptly stopped talks on March 14. He said yesterday in a statement: “We are confident that we can reach an agreement if both sides are willing to engage in good faith and remain at the table for the duration. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I believe that failure is not an option, and I hope everyone at the Port Authority agrees.”

The city, state, and Port Authority are seeking to compel Mr. Silverstein to renegotiate his development rights on the site, claiming that the developer cannot pay for the current plan to build four commercial office towers at ground zero and a fifth, Tower 5, abutting ground zero to the south.

Before formal negotiations broke off last Tuesday night, a deal was discussed that would have transferred the building rights of the Freedom Tower and Tower 5 to the Port Authority in exchange for a share of Mr. Silverstein’s billions of dollars of insurance proceeds and a reduction in the developer’s rent payments, which are more than $10 million a month.

Port Authority officials said Silverstein Properties introduced a proposal in the eleventh hour of those negotiations that would have made the Port Authority assume nearly all the project’s risk. Personal attacks followed, and several elected officials called on Mr. Silverstein to put the public interest ahead of his desire for private gain.

Mr. Silverstein submitted another proposal on Friday, but the officials for the Port Authority rejected it and said they would release a new proposal this week.

Although there is a growing chorus of critics who say the Freedom Tower will be commercially unpopular and should be scrapped, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that he supported moving forward with all five of the planned office buildings.

“The construction is really just about ready to start, and I think we should go ahead with all of these buildings. Unfortunately, until you really resolve this issue with Larry Silverstein, it’s hard to see how you’re going to construct very much or attract tenants,” Mr. Bloomberg said.