Newly elected Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı said Turkish Cyprus is not Turkey's "child," but a sibling country, drawing criticism from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Since it was found, Turkey has called Turkish Cyprus its "child country," which is called "motherland" by Turkish Cypriots. The island is also called "mikri mas patridha" – "our small land" in Greek.

Erdoğan spoke at a news conference in Esenboğa Airport before he took off for Kuwait on Monday. "When he says 'two sibling countries' for our relations, then it's all completely different. Mr. President [Akıncı] has to watch his words. There is a sacrifice for a child-motherland relationship. We paid a price in Turkish Cyprus. Also, the amount we spent for the continuing reconstruction of the island is around $1 billion. We never abandoned them," Erdoğan said prior to his departure for Kuwait on Monday afternoon. Akın immediately responded to Erdoğan's criticism, saying: "Turkish Cypriots will continue to hold their love for the motherland, but the time for leaving behind infanthood and start crawling has come."

"Who fights for TRNC's recognition in the international arena?" Erdoğan asked, and continued by saying "I wonder if Mr. Akıncı would be able to struggle by himself."

The Turkish president also criticized Russian President Putin's stance on 1915 events and said: "It's not the first time Russia used the word genocide on this issue. I'm personally sad that Putin took such a step. What is happening in Ukraine and Crimea is evident. They should firstly explain these before calling it genocide," Erdoğan said.

Akıncı, an independent candidate, won the second round of Turkish Cyprus's presidential race on Sunday against incumbent President Derviş Eroğlu with 60.5 percent of the vote, according to the Supreme Election Board of Turkish Cyprus.