Haaretz reports that Russia, the US and Saudi Arabia have apparently
been discussing how to sideline Assad in an attempt to get things under control in
Syria, which has, of course, gotten way out of anyone's control. If nothing else, the existence of
ISIL --- which has
become an existential threat to the Syrian regime --- is all the proof one needs of that. In this context, Russia's
land grabs in Syria could be seen as compensation for losing a long-time ally, or assurance that losing Assad --- which has been the US and Turkey's goal in this war all along --- won't mean losing their military bases.
Of course, Justin Raimondo has his own analysis
here, although it predates the Haaretz report.