The paper analyses the role of the United Nations in Syria, and that of major powers who influence the UN and global events. It argues that the Astana process has marginalised the UN-led Geneva negotiations and is about to petrify a status quo with Bashar al-Assad regaining most of the Syrian territory and remaining in power. UN’s official trusteeship of such a final agreement would de facto legitimise the government in Damascus and further damage the organisation’s standing

Patrycja Sasnal is the head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). A political scientist and an Arabist, specialising in Middle Eastern and American studies, migration, radicalisation processes, systemic transitions and political philosophy she is a member of the European Working Group on Egypt and a 2010/2011 Fulbright scholar at Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.