KABUL (REUTERS) - The Taleban have suspended talks over a possible exchange of Taleban and US prisoners due to the "complexity" of the situation in Afghanistan, the militant group said on Sunday.

"Due to the political complexity of the current situation in the country, the leadership of the Islamic Emirate has decided to suspend the issue for some time," Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an email to media organisations, using the name the Taleban gave their 1996-2001 government.

"Therefore, the prisoner exchange process has been delayed until further notice," Mr Mujahid said. He provided no further detail on why that decision had been made.

In an effort to foster peace talks to end the Afghan war, US officials recently took steps they hoped might revive US discussions with Taleban representatives about the proposed swap of five Taleban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the return of Bowe Bergdahl, a US soldier who went missing in Afghanistan in 2009 and is believed to be held by Taleban-linked militants in northwest Pakistan.