Visiting Norwegian Parliament President Thorbjorn Jagland said on Monday that suspension of Turkey's talks for entry into the EU would be a mistake.

Jagland made the remarks at his meeting with Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc in the parliament in Ankara.

"Some EU countries did not assume a fair attitude towards Turkey's efforts," Jagland said.

He also noted that Norway and Turkey had several common interests, recalling that Turkey and Norway were the members of the NATO, but not members of the EU.

"Turkey is very important for Europe and the region," added Jagland.

On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected a recommendation by the EU to partially suspend Turkey's EU entry talks, saying, "this decision is unacceptable for us."

Turkey has been defying repeated EU demands to open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus, insisting that the international community must first move to ease the isolation of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", which is recognized only by Ankara.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of Cyprus following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

The internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus entered the EU in 2004 in the name of the whole island. Turkey began membership talks with the EU in October last year.

Source: Xinhua