Even as Syria's warring sides met for the first time in nine months, video released by the country's military showed fighting in parts of the country remained intense.
Troops loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad were involved in heavy clashes with IS and rebel forces.
While more than 5,000 kilometres away, in Kazakhstan, the head of the Syrian government's Kazakhstan peace talk delegation, Bashar Al-Ja'afari, declared he'd come to get results.
"We came to Astana to succeed and we will not be part of any manoeuvre aiming at torpedoing the meeting of Astana."
But it didn't take long for tensions to rise with Bashar Al-Ja'afari complaining of rudeness and unprofessionalism by rebel force negotiators in early talks.
He accused them of defending what he referred to as war crimes, committed by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - the militant group formerly known as Nusra Front.
"Nusra Front, according to the Security Council, is a terrorist entity so you cannot defend a terrorist entity and you cannot qualify the military operations of the Syrian Arab Army against these terrorists who are depriving seven million people from drinking water as an act which is not in line with the agreement. This is wrong, this is what I mean by misinterpreting the agreement."
But opposition spokesman Osama Abu Zaid has accused the government delegation of trying to de-rail the talks, and says those brokering the negotiations are well aware of the government's intentions.
"Any collapse in the talks will hurt mainly the Russians, who tried to bring something new to the talks and end the Syrian crisis. I think the presence of Bashar Al-Ja'afari, the head of the regime delegation, led the brokers and Russians in particular to prefer indirect talks. Bashar Al-Ja'afari is well known to the brokers who are sure he will put obstacles in place and make the talks useless."
But speaking at the end of the first day of talks, rebel spokesman Yahya Al-Aridi appeared more hopeful of progress.
He's praised Russia for its efforts while, at the same time, questioning its political motivations.
"They understand details and they know real facts. And we understand that they militarily have achieved what they wanted in Syria. Now they want to translate this military achievement into some sort of a political gain.The requirement for achieving this political gain is a ceasefire. If Russia is thinking of taking Astana as a back door for other settings or other tracks regarding issues, I wish I would be mistaken. They should be thinking to work in harmony with the international community, with all those who are really interested in bringing Syria back to life."
For its part Turkey - which has also helped broker the talks - has cautioned the world against expecting swift results around the negotiating table.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus says a peace plan must be accepted by all participants.
"There are parties around the table that have been at war with each other for six years. It's obvious that they have opposite view points. A solution in one or two days should not be expected. But the meeting is important in terms of bringing the parties, who have been at war, to the table."
The United Nations is hopeful the talks can, at least, produce a mechanism to oversee and implement a nationwide ceasefire, paving the way for further negotiations in Geneva next month.
And with the United States playing a minor role, some Middle East observers say the Astana talks could prove a crucial turning point in solving the Syrian crisis.
