“There will be no full withdrawal by allies by April-end,” one of the officials told Reuters.
“Conditions have not been met,” he said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “And with the new U.S. administration, there will be tweaks in the policy, the sense of hasty withdrawal which was prevalent will be addressed and we could see a much more calculated exit strategy.”
U.S. administration under former President Donald Trump singed a historic troop withdrawal agreement with the Taliban on late February last year which calls for all troops withdrawal in 14 months—by May—if the Taliban live up to its commitments such as fulfilling its security guarantees.
The accord which excluded Afghan government hailed by former President Trump who reduced the number of his troops to Afghanistan to 2,500 by this month.
Plans on what will happen after April are now being considered and likely to be a top issue at a key NATO meeting in February, the NATO sources said.
The landmark deal also paved the ground for the intra-Afghan negotiations—the first direct official talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban opened in September 12 in Doha, but violence has remained high.
“No NATO ally wants to stay in Afghanistan longer than necessary, but we have been clear that our presence remains conditions-based,” said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
No NATO decision has been made, she said, adding that a February meeting NATO defense ministers meeting could not be preempted. “Allies continue to assess the overall situation and to consult on the way forward.”
NATO continues to call on all sides to “seize this historic opportunity for peace,” Lungescu said.
“NATO fully supports the Afghanistan peace process in order to ensure that Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for terrorists that would attack our homelands,” she said.
Around 10,000 troops, including Americans, are in Afghanistan, Lungescu said.
The NATO source said troop levels are expected to stay roughly the same until after May, but the plan beyond that is not clear.
Kabul and some foreign governments and agencies say the Taliban has failed to meet conditions due to escalated violence and a failure to cut ties with militant groups such as Al Qaeda, which the Taliban denies.
The U.S. new administration under Joe Biden has launched a review of Doha peace deal.
A Pentagon spokesman said the Taliban have not met their commitments but Washington remained committed to the process and had not decided on future troop levels.
A State Department representative said Biden was committed to bringing a “responsible end to the ‘forever wars’… while also protecting Americans from terrorist and other threats.”
(Exclusive report by Reuters)
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