If you come away from somewhere empty-handed, you have failed to get what you wanted. Delegates from the warring sides held a new round of peace talks but went away empty-handed. without getting what you hoped or expected to get return/come back etc empty-handed
[ 'em(p)-tE ] (adjective.) before 12th century. Middle English, from Old English [AE]mettig unoccupied, from [AE]metta leisure, perhaps from [AE]- without + -metta ; more at MUST.