No, Assad runs Syria.
could this lead to Russia opening an additional front /expansion by expanding into the Turkish border as a reprisal?
Hell no! Not just because Russia has no land border with Turkey, but because Turkey is a NATO country. The Turks may not be very reliable or trust worthy, but they will surely invoke the NATO charter if attacked. Then Putin's forces would receive an epic gang-rape.
Possibly redoing the Georgia thing nearby as well?
Its a possibility but it would be extremely dumb to do so, the Russians can barely manage one front in the Ukraine, opening up a second in Georgia would be an additional logistic strain. The Georgians were taken by surprise in 08, since then they have taken great measures to improve their defensive posture. As soon as Putin runs out of willing volunteers, then his invasions will be done.
yeah an obvious typo - I meant since Russia has been supporting Assad in Syria, and Turkey is going into Syria. My error.
They actually do share a land boarder east of the Black Sea on the eastern side of Georgia - it isn’t long. However, I don’t think NATO is obligated if Turkey initiates action on their own.
I’m not sure how the Russian force order stands these days I’ve been meaning to update myself since I stopped paying attention in the late 90’s.