The United States and Greece will conduct joint aerial drills in Xanthi, a Greek province in western Thrace, Cumhuriyet reported.

Over 150 American helicopters, including Black Hawks and Apache, will arrive at the Alexandroupolis port on the night of February 23 as part of the Defender Europe 2021 military drills.

The exercise comes amid deteriorating relations between Greece and NATO ally Turkey over maritime borders after Turkey began searching for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and the United States also have disagreements over Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 systems, which Washington believes are incompatible with NATO defense systems.