Twelve countries, including 10 in the region and two in Europe, have offered to host intra-Afghan peace negotiations, Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar said on Thursday.

The countries include Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Indonesia, Japan, Norway and Germany, Atmar said at a press conference.
Referring to regional and international conferences on peace held last week, Atmar said that countries called for reduction of violence and immediate start of intra-Afghan talks.
He said that countries emphasized that the cost of war has not only increased for the Afghan people, but also for the region.
On the issue of prisoner release, Atmar said that the government has released around 4,400 Taliban prisoners from 5,000 the group is demanding.
He said that Afghan and international laws do not allow release of the remaining prisoners.
Atmar noted that the US-Taliban deal included number not names. He said that the government would release 600 alternative prisoners.
He said that despite violence, conspiracies and bloodshed, the Afghan government showed its goodwill and that a date should be determined for start of intra-Afghan talks.