Despite the longstanding alliance and close military partnership between Turkey and the United States, the relationship has always been troublesome. For some time now, pundits and Turkey experts have tended to speculate on “who lost Turkey.” Although most of the observations have looked for an American culprit, it is now time to discuss for Ankara “who lost the United States?” as Turkey is on the verge of losing its key ally.

From the Eastern Mediterranean to Syria — the most important and crucial file in front of Ankara — Washington has increasingly sided with the rivals of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Recent developments have also indicated that Erdogan’s delicate game of pitting Russia and the US against each other also backfired in Washington.

Following Erdogan's profound disappointment at not being able to meet with President Joe Biden during the United Nations General Assembly in September, Erdogan met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. After the Sept 29 Sochi meeting, Erdogan spoke highly of Putin, praising ongoing Turkish-Russian military cooperation with ever-deepening prospects, while needling Biden with bitter words.

A day before the Sochi summit, Greece and France signed a deal under which Athens will purchase three to four advanced frigates from Paris, delivered between 2025 and 2026. The frigates will be compatible with 24 Rafale jets that Greece acquired from France this year. The ambitious Franco-Greek military deal appears to be aiming to balance Turkish naval and air supremacy in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, if not tip the scales in Athens' favor.