Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday called on Greece to stop letting "a spoiled child" to cast a shadow over the relations between the two neighboring countries, apparently referring to Greece's defense minister and his recent Kardak islets comments.

Greek Minister Panos Kammenos claimed on Friday that Turkey is trying "to escalate the crisis" over the Kardak islets, warning against setting foot on them and saying that Greek forces are ready for "any contingency".

Speaking to reporters in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey has been holding exploratory talks with Greece, using a diplomatic mechanism to resolve differences on the islands in the Aegean, however, it will not stay patience against such provocative rhetoric from Greek defense minister.

On Saturday, Çavuşoğlu also reacted to Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias' remarks that "Turkish Chief of General Staff could not set foot on Kardak even if he wanted to," pointing out that Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar had actually just visited the islets.

A decades-long dispute between Turkey and Greece over the uninhabited Aegean islets of Kardak brought the two countries to the brink of armed conflict in 1996 and led to renewed tensions this year.

On Jan. 29, Turkish military chief Akar visited waters near the islets. Three days later, Kammenos flew over the disputed islets.