Police have clashed with opposition supporters during some protests

The offer comes after weeks of street protests calling for electoral reform led by the opposition.

The elections are scheduled for January. A date for the talks has not yet been set.

The BBC's Waliur Rahman says the proposal for talks may help to defuse an atmosphere of political crisis.

According to the constitution, the former head of the Supreme Court should lead a caretaker administration to oversee the election process.

But an alliance of 14 opposition parties have been protesting about the appointment of former Chief Justice KM Hasan because he used to be a member of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

Opposition parties are also calling for the resignation of the election commissioners, accusing them of pro-government bias.

Boycott threat

Former prime minister and leader of the Awami League Sheikh Hasina set out a series of proposals for electoral reform in parliament last year.

The opposition has threatened to boycott elections unless their demands are met.

On Friday, senior government minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, BNP secretary general called his counterpart in the Awami League, Abdul Jalil, to offer talks.

He told reporters the government hoped to resolve the dispute through talks.

Mr Jalil said the opposition would announce its decisions about taking part in talks after consulting with its alliance partners.