The Taliban will not negotiate with the government in Kabul until about 5,000 of their associates are released from Afghan prisons, said a Taliban spokesman, quoted by the Associated Press. The statement was made at a time when the deadline for reducing hostilities in Afghanistan is expiring.
On Saturday, Taliban and US officials signed an agreement promising to work for the release of political prisoners and prisoners of war as a confidence-building measure. The agreement called for the Afghan government to release up to 5,000 Taliban and the Taliban to release thousands of government loyalists.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who was not a party to the talks, rejected the request. A Ghani spokesman said the release of prisoners could not be a condition but should be a topic of negotiation.

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