Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday labeled the European Union's decision to partially freeze Turkey's membership talks with the bloc as a " great injustice."

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, EU leaders endorsed the suspension of eight chapters of Turkey's talks with the bloc as agreed by EU foreign ministers on Monday as punishment for Ankara's refusal to open its ports and airports to the Republic of Cyprus.

"The EU Council decision is a great injustice for Turkey," Erdogan told a joint news conference at the Ankara Esenboga Airport with British Prime Minister Tony Blair before the latter's departure for Cairo.

Blair arrived in Turkish capital Ankara later Friday for a one- day working visit to Turkey. He said that keeping Europe's door open to Ankara was vital, not just in respect of Turkey but with wider relationships between the West and the Muslim world.

The eight chapters agreed to be frozen in the accession talks with the EU are free movement, finance, agriculture, fishery, transport, customs, foreign policy and services trade. But they can be unfrozen once the conditions are met.

Earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan said that the EU treats Turkey unfairly regarding the its demands for opening ports and airports to Cyprus, adding that Turkey-EU relations are undergoing a serious test despite recent efforts to overcome the deadlock.

Turkey has been defying repeated EU demands to open its ports to Cyprus, a EU member, insisting that the international community must first move to ease the isolation imposed on the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, which is recognized by Turkey only.

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.

Source: Xinhua