President Joe Biden said Thursday it is unlikely that 3,500 service members will return home from Afghanistan by May 1, a deadline set by the Trump administration.

“It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline just in terms of tactical reasons,” Biden said at a press conference. “It’s hard to get those troops out.”

During the presidential campaign, Biden talked about ending the “forever wars” and said Thursday he does not anticipate troops will still be in the region next year.

“We will leave,” Biden said. “The question is when we leave.”

Biden and his commanders have said the pullout is also contingent upon the Taliban meeting agreed-upon benchmarks.

“It’s clear that the Taliban have not upheld what they said they would do and reduce the violence,” Gen. Robert Clarke, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday.

Army photo by SPC Christopher Bouchard