The US State Department said that Washington has sent its special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, on a mission to press for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, noting that his current tour will lead him to Qatar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bulgaria and Norway.
The statement indicated that Khalilzad would press in Kabul to solve the remaining issues, specifically the exchange of prisoners and the reduction of violence.
The US envoy described the two sides as closer than ever to the start of negotiations inside Afghanistan.
In Pakistan, Khalilzad will seek support for efforts to advance negotiations between Afghans.
In Norway and Bulgaria, the US envoy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be briefed on the Afghan peace process.
And the Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan quoted a source in the Afghan National Security Council that the Afghan government released yesterday, Saturday, 50 of the Taliban detainees, bringing the number of released detainees to 4,490 Taliban detainees.
In contrast, the Taliban have so far released 820 Afghan forces detainees as part of the peace agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban at the end of February in Doha.
On Wednesday, Khalilzad condemned an attack by Afghan government forces that killed 45 people - including civilians - in air strikes on Taliban fighters in a region bordering Iran in the west of the country.