The Afghan government and the Taliban agreed to hold their first talks session in the Qatari capital, Doha, with the meeting preceding the completion of the release of five thousand Taliban prisoners to the government.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the movement was ready to start talks with the government within a week of releasing 5,000 prisoners.
The government has so far released three thousand Taliban prisoners, according to an agreement - between the United States and the movement - in Doha last February.
The agreement included a plan to withdraw foreign forces and conduct Afghan-Afghan peace talks, in preparation for ending the 19-year war.
Two weeks ago, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for Afghanistan - who signed the February agreement with the Taliban - said he was optimistic that negotiations between Afghans would begin soon, stressing that his country was trying to help solve the prisoner issue.