Syria’s government and Kurds still at odds over merging forces after latest talks, U.S. envoy says

The agreement, which is supposed be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army — which the Syrian Kurds are pushing for — or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military. Barrack said Washington has “complete confidence in the Syrian government and the new Syrian government’s military,” while the SDF has been a “valuable partner” in the fight against IS and that the U.S. “wants to make sure that they have an opportunity ... to integrate into the new government in a respectful way.”