Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Thursday that he is gearing up to launch a military campaign against Islamic State (ISIS) inside Syria, even though he has not received support or coordination from the various armies already active there.
"We are making our necessary preparations to clean up across the border due to problems happening in Kilis," he said at a meeting in the capital city of Ankara. Kilis is a restive province on Turkey's southeastern border with Syria.
"However, we have not got the desired support from our allies yet, especially from the countries which have armed forces in the region," he added, as quoted by the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News.
Erdogan's announcement could prove explosive, as tensions on the border have already led to a massive fallout between his nation and Russia after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet on the border.
NATO-member Turkey has intermittently opened fire across the border and taken limited actions, but a mission to "clean up across the border" could put Turkish troops into conflict with the Russian air campaign backing Bashar al-Assad's regime, as well as the US-led international campaign against ISIS.
In his comments on Thursday, Erdogan went on to attack the European Union (EU) and other countries, even as his nation is in tense negotiations with the EU on a visa-free travel program for Turkish citizens which some warn could allow terrorists to easily enter Europe.
“We also have the right to not care (about) those who disregard Kilis (and) Aleppo," he said. "It is not possible for us to agree either with the allies or the non-moral structure in the face of the current discourse and manners of especially European Union organizations and some countries in Turkey’s fight against terrorism."
"Those who stirred up the world when Daesh (ISIS) conducted attacks against them left Turkey alone in its fight against the same organization," he added, accusing Europe of not helping Turkey fight ISIS.