Russia has pushed a peace process in Astana since January 2017, backed by two other power-brokers, Turkey and Iran. The opening round of the talks saw opposition representatives sit face-to-face with a government delegation for the first time. Four de-escalation zones were created after several rounds of talks, with the three brokers acting as guarantors. However, western powers accused the Astana process of undermining the parallel UN-mediated Geneva talks.