Turkey's prime minister has hit back at American writer Paul Auster, who was quoted as saying that he would not visit the country in protest at its jailing of journalists and writers.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, known for his blunt pronouncements, said on Wednesday: "As if we need you! Who cares if you come or not? Would Turkey lose any grandeur?"

Auster was quoted as saying in an interview with Turkey's Hürriyet newspaper on Monday that he wouldn't visit Turkey or China to protest their treatment of journalists.

Dozens of journalists have been jailed in Turkey accused of involvement in an alleged plot to topple the government or of links with Kurdish rebels.

Erdogan's government denies they are being persecuted for their writing.