At the same time the United States has stepped up its praise of Greece and is seeking to expand a military presence in the court, Turkey plans to purchase US-made Patriot missile systems and American made F-35 fighter jets that critics said could be used against Greece in a conflict.

And with Prime Minister and Radical Left SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, a former Communist Youth leader having just returned from a visit to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said his country also will get Russian S-400 missile defense systems as tensions with Greece are escalating.

“The deal on S-400 is closed. The first systems will be supplied in October 2019. The offer on Patriot will change nothing because we don’t consider them as alternatives to one another. We can have both systems,” he was quoted as saying by Russian news agency TASS.

In August, the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), among the most influential Diaspora groups trying to block the sale of US-made F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, applauded a law that suspended the transactions for 90 days, until a review of Turkey also buying the Russian missile systems was completed.

“The language included in the NDAA (legislation) barring the transfer of F-35s to Turkey is but the first step in a long-overdue reassessment of the US-Turkey relationship,” said HALC Executive Director Endy Zemenides.

“For far too long, Turkey has acted with impunity in the region, threatening America’s allies, violating international law, and undermining regional security,” he said,

Greek and Turkish officials have been stepping up taunts against each other over who has rule in the Aegean and as the United States was, at least publicly, appearing to be siding more with Greece although saying it needs to keep Turkey as an ally.