MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaragua's government and opposition are negotiating how to carry out the release of hundreds of political prisoners arrested in the past year of unrest.

President Daniel Ortega's government announced Wednesday it would free the prisoners within 90 days in exchange for the lifting of external sanctions.

The prisoner release is the first of five agenda items negotiators plan to tackle after several fitful weeks of meetings to establish ground rules for talks on resolving Nicaragua's political divisions.

The Committee for the Liberation of Political Prisoners said in a statement Thursday that the prisoners should be freed within 15 days and that negotiations should not begin until all are released.

Both sides have agreed to ask the International Red Cross to monitor the prisoner release.