International troops plan to remain in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline stipulated by the Taliban's deal with the United States, which could escalate tensions with the Taliban demanding a complete withdrawal, NATO sources told Reuters.

“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.”

The administration of former US President Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban early last year calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops by May in exchange for the rebels' compliance with certain security guarantees.

Trump hailed the accord - which did not include the Afghan government - as the end of two decades of war. He reduced US troops to 2,500 by this month, the fewest since 2001.

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 sources in NATO noted.