Kabul, Dec 13 (IANS): Negotiating teams of the Afghanistan government and the Taliban confirmed that the two sides have exchanged their lists about the agenda of the peace talks and the next phase of the discussions will begin on January 5, 2021.

"Both sides of intra-Afghan negotiations exchanged their preliminary list about the agenda of the talks. They also held preliminary discussions about this issue. In order to conduct more consultations, the two sides agreed to take a break from December 14 to January 5," TOLO News quoted Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem as saying in a statement on Saturday.

Afghan negotiator Nader Nadery also confirmed the development, adding that both sides exchanged their preliminary lists and agreed to conduct more consultations.

Naeem and Nadery however, did not mention whether the talks will be take place in Doha or somewhere else.

Saturday's announceme came after the two negotiating teams earlier this month agreed on procedural rules for the talks, which were formally launched on September 12 in the Qatari capital.

Following their agreement, they held three meetings on the agenda of the negotiations and were expected to start the talks this week.

Regarding the location for the next round of talks, Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said on Saturday that the negotiations should be conducted in Afghanistan, TOLO News reported.

He added that the government is ready to hold talks with the Taliban in any part of the country as per the militant group's choice.