ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Michael "Erik" Kurilla acknowledged on Tuesday there are some “sticking points” in ongoing efforts to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the new Syrian security apparatus.
“I would tell you it's actually going well right now there's some sticking points but what's happening is you have the Syrian Kurds are talking directly to [Syrian interim President Ahmed] al-Sharaa and the Syrian government right now,” Kurilla said when Congressman Abe Hamadeh asked him about SDF’s integration during a congressional hearing.
“Turkey has played a positive role in that as well but I think that we're on a good path right now,” he added.
Turkey, a longtime supporter of the anti-Assad Syrian opposition, emerged as a key ally of the new Syrian leadership. Ankara considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of the SDF, as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - which announced its dissolution in mid-May as part of ongoing peace talks with the Turkish government. The process has eased tensions between the SDF and Ankara.
Regarding integrating other minorities into Damascus institutions, Kurilla said the US is currently focused on the Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava) for now.
SDF is the de facto army in Rojava and the global coalition's main ally on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
In early December, a coalition of opposition groups, led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - then-led by Sharaa - toppled the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in a swift offensive.
By late January, the new authorities in Damascus had disbanded the Syrian army and the long-ruling Baathist Party, annulled the constitution, and formed an interim government headed by Sharaa.
Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on March 10, which included the integration of the SDF and Rojava institutions into the interim government. The deal has been welcomed by regional and international countries, including Turkey. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently called on both sides to accelerate the process.
ISIS has tried to take advantage of the shifted security and political landscape in Syria. The SDF has reported a dramatic increase in ISIS activities in Syria, especially in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor.
Kurilla reaffirmed that the global coalition partners are on the front lines, where “they remain crucial to the enduring defeat of ISIS battling the group across their respective countries as well as enabling the repatriation of ISIS detainees and displaced persons.”
Also on Tuesday, the global coalition member states affirmed their commitment in combating ISIS in post-Assad Syria during an anti-ISIS meeting in Madrid.
“The members addressed the ISIS/Daesh security risks in Syria, including those associated with detained ISIS/Daesh fighters and civilians in displaced persons camps in the northeast. They affirmed the Coalition’s continuing commitment to counter ISIS/Daesh in post-Assad Syria, including through increased border security and information sharing and the return and repatriation of Syrians, Iraqis, and third country nationals to their communities and countries of origin,” read a joint statement by the US, UK and Spain.
Erbil-Baghdad tensions
The CENTCOM commander also touched on tensions between Baghdad and Erbil after the Iraqi finance ministry recently said it would halt all budget transfers to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including salaries for public sector employees for the remainder of the year.
Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami accused Erbil of exceeding its share of the 2025 federal budget by over $10 billion, a figure KRG Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab said was “made up.”
When asked why the US is still subsidizing Iraq even though it is withholding the public salaries and military equipment of the Kurdistan Region, he said the US ends up “working through them [the disputes], they [the Kurds] end up getting the salaries, they end up getting the equipment,” blaming Iran for the issues.
Salary disputes between the two governments have been ongoing for nearly a decade.
“Despite all of the the setbacks that Iran has been facing the last few months I think Iran is trying to double down on getting their grip inside of Iraq but I think Iraq is a sovereign nation and they don't want to be a vassal state of Iran, of course, although there's a lot of Iranian militias currently still operating Iraq,” he noted.
Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce emphasized, “We urge Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their issues through constructive dialogue, consistent with their constitutional responsibilities.”
Bruce noted that resolving the salary dispute would not only signal political progress but also foster an environment conducive to foreign investment. “A successful resolution would send a signal that Iraq is creating an environment in which US companies would want to invest.”
