Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday he wanted to keep an open channel of communication with Turkey despite sharp rhetoric which has heightened tension between the two neighbors.
The countries, which are partners in NATO, are at odds over a number of issues from maritime and airspace boundaries to potential energy sources in the Mediterranean, and ethnically-split Cyprus.
Tensions recently resurfaced, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan saying Greece should stop arming islands in the Aegean Sea which should have a demilitarized status under international treaties. Greece dismisses Turkey's assertions as unfounded.
Mitsotakis, who was speaking in Cyprus, said international law was on Greece's side.
"We will set aside any rhetoric which deviates from the rules of good diplomatic practice," he said during a meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia.
"I believe that this approach is the correct one and that we will quickly come back to calmer waters, always keeping open channels of communication. It is my view and always has been that even at the most difficult of times they should never close," Mitsotakis said.
Erdogan has halted bilateral talks in a dispute over airspace violations and a perceived slight from Mitsotakis, whom he has accused of trying to block sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey when the Greek prime minister visited Washington in May.
"We said we would not meet with them again as long as there is not an honest politician in front of me," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul after Friday prayers.
"There cannot be a clearer, more open response than this. So Greece can take care of itself from now on."
However, his Defense Minister Hulusi Akar spoke with Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday about keeping communication lines open to resolve issues and focus on a positive bilateral agenda.
On Friday, Akar told reporters in Brussels that any problems between Ankara and Athens should be solved through dialogue, adding that easing tensions between the NATO members would help global and regional stability.
"It is important for us to move forward by accepting that we can resolve our problems with our neighbor and NATO ally Greece through diplomatic channels, that if we are one and united, we can take better advantage of resources, and this could reflect positively on our countries' prosperity," he said.
