President Joe Biden told G-7 leaders during an emergency meeting on Tuesday that he will keep the timeline previously set for the full U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The White House said in a statement following that the U.S. is “currently on pace to finish by August 31st.”
“In addition, the President has asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timeline should that become necessary,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
White House officials, who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity, added that the president may opt to extend the mission beyond Aug. 31 for a number of reasons to include “if the Taliban stop cooperating” with U.S. evacuation operations.
Biden is slated to deliver remarks later Tuesday, which come on the heels of the G-7 meeting where leaders of the world’s seven major industrialized democracies were likely to press the U.S. president to extend a self-imposed Aug. 31 departure date.
In a joint statement following the virtual meeting, the group expressed their concern about the devolving security situation in Afghanistan.
