Syrian govt and Kurdish-led forces hold talks to discuss military merger

Syrian government officials held talks Sunday with the commander of the main Kurdish-led force in the country over plans to merge it with the national army, state media reported, adding that no tangible results had been achieved. The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa inked a deal in March with the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control much of the northeast. The SDF was to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025, but there have been disagreements on how it would happen. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain a cohesive unit in the new army or whether it would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed. The SDF said in a statement Sunday that a delegation led by top commander Mazloum Abdi held talks with government officials in Damascus related to the military integration process. The SDF later said talks had ended, with details to be released later. The SDF has tens of thousands of fighters