Other than Syrians, it seems most of the conflict in Syria is mercenaries killing each other while wreaking havoc on civilians.

Putin has demonstrated throughout his career the ability to measure response to provocation, and I am certain this will not change now. The Georgian attack on it's own province of S. Ossetia in 2008 well exemplified this. S. Ossetia is largely ethnically Russian, so when Georgia began firing American missiles into schools, hospitals, and residential areas, it was certain Russia would respond.

Only 3 klicks south of the border of S. Ossetia, a critical junction of the pipeline that brings crude from Baku to points west was widely expected to be seized by Russia, as the juicy bait was utterly vulnerable to the massive ground forces that Russia deployed in S. Ossetia to end the targeting of Russians by the US-led forces of the Georgian military.

Huge bets were made before the conflict began that oil prices would skyrocket. Gas prices in the US were already mooning, and BP, who operates the pipeline, must have been chortling with glee and rubbing it's blood covered hands together.

Yet Russian forces never touched the pipeline, the derivatives were worthless, and oil prices plummeted, and have never approached the prices then extant. It is difficult to estimate the total monetary amount of the gift Putin gave the world, by seeing through the scam that depended on his personal greed. It is certainly over a $Trillion, however.

Syria is a war being fought, again, for an oil pipeline. I have no doubt that Putin is fully cognizant of who is who on the ground there, although it's impenetrable for most of us, as the obfuscatory propaganda the enemedia blares is hard to find alternatives to.

Nothing would profit the deep state more than full blown war between US and Russian forces in Syria, and constant provocation is undertaken to cause that corpse flower to profitably bloom.

Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Korea all border Russia, and Putin is not going to fail to understand the threat to Russia isn't soluble by committing ground troops in Syria. He has actual information, rather than the propaganda we are inundated with, and this is his sandbox.

I dunno how, but I am pretty sure Putin will figger out a way to keep Russia from being sucked into war in Syria against the US. Keeping Iran out of a war with Israel may be impossible. If anyone can do it, it's Putin.