Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his country intends to hold talks with the Taliban over the hardline Islamist movement's refusal to allow Ankara to run Kabul airport after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

"God willing, we will see what kind of talks we can have with the Taliban and see where it takes us," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

Turkey is in talks with US Defense Department officials about an offer made by Ankara to help ensure the security and functioning of Kabul airport, which is essential to enabling countries to maintain their diplomatic presence in a country witnessing fierce battles in conjunction with the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Erdogan had discussed this issue with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, during a bilateral meeting that brought them together on the sidelines of a NATO summit held in June.

Turkey has hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan, but a Turkish official confirmed to AFP that these were not "combat forces."

Ankara and Washington are holding talks on the financial and logistical support of the United States and NATO to the Turkish mission in Afghanistan.

Last week, the Taliban strongly warned Turkey against keeping troops in Afghanistan to protect Kabul airport after the expected completion of the withdrawal of foreign forces by the end of August.

The movement declared in a statement that "the decision of the Turkish leaders is not wise, it is a violation of our sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and it is against our national interests."

"We consider keeping foreign forces in our homeland by any country, whatever the pretext, as an occupation, and the occupiers will be treated on this basis," she added.

"If the Turkish authorities do not reconsider their decision to continue occupying our country," the movement added, "the Taliban will resist it just as it has resisted 20 years of foreign occupation."

But Erdogan criticized the Taliban's position, saying, "In our opinion, the Taliban's approach is not the way a Muslim deals with a Muslim," and urged the rebel movement to stop its military operations.

"We call on the Taliban ... to show the world as soon as possible that peace prevails in Afghanistan," Erdogan added.