US President Joe Biden acknowledged that meeting a May 1 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan will be “tough” but that it “could happen.”
He also said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos aired on Wednesday that if the deadline is extended it won’t be by “a lot longer.”
“The fact is that, that was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the president — the former president — worked out. And so we’re in consultation with our allies as well as the government, and that decision’s going to be — it’s in process now,” Biden said.
The May 1 deadline for the United States to remove its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan was set former President Donald Trump, in a February 2020 deal cut with the Taliban. In exchange, the Taliban agreed to cut ties to Al-Qaida and stop its attack on American targets. The deal to end the two-decade-long conflict also included negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government leading to a power-sharing agreement, which are currently stalled.
Biden has pledged to end the conflict and remove US troops from Afghanistan.