US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad left for Doha on Friday to address the issue of intra-Afghan peace talks, the US State Department said in a statement Saturday. 

According to the State Department, Khalilzad will also visit Islamabad, Kabul, Norway and Bulgaria. 

In Doha and Kabul, Khalilzad will press for resolution of the remaining issues ahead of intra-Afghan negotiations, specifically final prisoner exchanges and reduced violence.

In Islamabad, Khalilzad will seek Pakistani support in the effort to advance intra-Afghan negotiations. 

In Oslo and Sofia, Khalilzad will update NATO Allies on the Afghan peace process, the statement read.

According to the State Department, “the parties are closer than ever to the start of Intra-Afghan Negotiations, the key next step to ending Afghanistan’s 40-year long war. Although significant progress has been made on prisoner exchanges, the issue requires additional effort to fully resolve.”

The issue of prisoners has become a sticky point in the past few weeks. Of the 5,000 prisoners the Taliban sought to be released, the Afghan government has already freed 4,400. 

However, on Saturday, acting Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar was quoted as having said the  Afghan government would not release the remaining Taliban prisoners as these individuals had been involved in “unjustifiable war crimes, and smuggling.”

In an interview with an Indian TV network, Atmar said that the obstacles to the start of talks between Afghans was the lack of reduction of violence by the Taliban and the release of prisoners of this group.

In order to resolve the issue, Atmar stated that the government told the Taliban to submit another list of prisoners so that the government could decide on their release.

However, sources close to the Taliban say the Taliban’s position is based on a peace agreement with the United States and that it is unchangeable.