The sending of ground forces by Saudi Arabia into Syria will have immense ramifications for the country’s civil war and the wider region. The question, however, is whether it will actually take place.

The Saudi announcement comes at a time when prospects for peace have faded with the collapse of the Geneva talks and the conflict has intensified with regime forces attempting to encircle Aleppo backed by heavy Russian air strikes.

The already sour relationship between Russia and Turkey, backers respectively of the Syrian regime and rebels, has also worsened. Ankara accuses Moscow of being complicit in trying to impose a “starvation siege” on Aleppo while the Russians claim the Turks are planning to invade Syria.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemen’s Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as “inciting people against the authorities”. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabia’s clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his ‘confession’. At Dawood’s trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

Any Saudi troops going into Syria will find themselves at the centre of a highly combustible situation. Although the ostensible reason for their presence would be to fight Isis, they may find themselves clashing with Iranian ‘volunteers’ and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.

The leading Sunni state in the Middle-East, Saudi Arabia, will find itself in confrontation with the leading Shia state, Iran, and its allies. The bitter enemies have been engaged in proxy sectarian wars in a number of places, most currently in Yemen; this time they will be in the same battle-space.

But will the Saudi ground intervention against Isis actually happen? The Saudi and other Sunni Gulf states are part of the US-led air campaign against Isis. But they have not even been taking part in this for months, forced to focus instead on air strikes on Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen who are proving far harder to see off than expected.

Cameron on arms trading with Saudi Arabia.mp4

There was talk at the beginning of the campaign of an army of Sunni states going into Yemen. The Saudis did not offer to lead it, trying instead, unsuccessfully, to sub-contract this to the Egyptians and the Pakistanis. The task is now being largely undertaken by a force of mercenaries, including Latin Americans and South Africans, organised by a US company.

On Thursday, Adel al Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, gave interviews to foreign media outlets. Surprisingly, he failed to make any mention of the proposed Syrian intervention.

This came, instead, later from a relatively junior official, Ahmed Asiri, a spokesman at the defence ministry. The statement was carefully worded. Saudi Arabia “is prepared to participate” in a ground operation in Syria, it said, “if there is consensus among coalition leaders”. In other words the Saudis would join a ground force rather than be one themselves.

There is a possibility that the Saudis may join the Turks if Ankara tries to set up a buffer zone, as they had proposed in the past, inside Syria. But such incursion may lead to clashes with the Kurdish YPG group, enemies of the Turks, but allies of the Americans against Isis.