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US Envoys Discuss with Putin 'Substantive' Plans for Steps to End Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner prior to the talks at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner prior to the talks at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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US Envoys Discuss with Putin 'Substantive' Plans for Steps to End Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner prior to the talks at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner prior to the talks at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

American envoys discussed "substantive plans" for next steps to end the Ukraine war during their meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House said, before they headed to Kyiv on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump's business partner Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Moscow in hopes of reviving negotiations to end Europe's worst conflict since WWII.

The conflict began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has already killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. It escalated this summer with a drastic rise in civilian deaths on both sides.

Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin on Saturday to "advance President Trump's agenda of peace in the Russia-Ukraine War," a White House official said in a statement to AFP.

"The two sides discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine."

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks "extremely frank", saying the Americans "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement", but did not elaborate.

The Russian side told the Americans that Moscow was "confident" it could achieve its military goals of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine, Ushakov added.

Both Russia and Ukraine have vowed not to strike each other's capitals for three days to allow for the negotiations to take place.

It was Kushner and Witkoff's eighth visit to Moscow during the war -- but it will be their first in the Ukrainian capital, hit by deadly Russian strikes throughout the war.

Russia's TASS news agency reported early Sunday that Witkoff and Kushner had arrived in Rzeszow in Poland on their way to Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was expecting the envoys on Sunday.

Ukrainian airspace has been closed since Moscow launched the war in February 2022 and visiting leaders have been arriving by train.

- Putin thanks Trump -

In televised comments before the talks, Putin said Russia would ensure the safety of the envoys in Kyiv -- a city Moscow has pounded with deadly strikes throughout the war.

"We will do everything that depends on us to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and mediators such as yourselves," Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.

Earlier Saturday, Putin had thanked Trump for persisting in his efforts to end the war despite it being "not simple".

Of the envoys' trip to Kyiv, he said: "No matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial."

Trump said on Friday his envoys were bringing a "proposal" to end fighting.

"We have an idea for peace," he said, without elaborating.

US efforts have so far not led to a breakthrough in the war, and peace efforts have stalled in part because of Washington's war with Iran.

Russia occupied large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, and Putin has insisted Moscow is intent on seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine.

- Limited truce -

Both Moscow and Kyiv committed to suspending strikes as the negotiations took place.

"The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight not to strike Kyiv for three days," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Zelensky said he had spoken to the US envoys and also promised Kyiv would not strike Moscow.

"From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow," Zelensky said.

On Saturday, Putin said he had "noted that the Ukrainian side significantly reduced" its strikes on Russia and Moscow.

However, Kyiv said that Russian strikes had killed 10 people across the country Saturday -- including a child and his family members in the Kharkiv region and two people outside Kyiv.

Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the visit of the US envoys with overnight attacks on Kyiv's two airports, as well as on civilian targets.

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World

PKK Threatens to Halt Peace Process with Türkiye

PKK leaders in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK leaders in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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PKK Threatens to Halt Peace Process with Türkiye

PKK leaders in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK leaders in northern Iraq (Reuters)

PKK leaders in northern Iraq threatened to halt a peace process with Türkiye centered on the group’s dissolution and disarmament unless Ankara takes concrete steps toward democratic reform.

Cemil Bayik, a member of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization that includes the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said the initiative, which the Turkish government calls the “terrorism-free Türkiye,” would come to a halt unless democratic measures were introduced.

Bayik discussed the disarmament of the PKK as a condition for moving into the democratic political arena and integrating its members into Turkish society.

He criticized the National Solidarity and Social Integration Law, passed by the Turkish parliament on Aug. 10 and known as the “framework law,” saying it represented a beginning but remained “incomplete.”

Criticism and warning

Bayik said the rationale for enacting the law had not been made clear and that merely stating that terrorism would end had weakened it. He said the law’s purpose would have been clearer had it specified that laying down arms was linked to democratic measures.

“The language used in the law is deeply flawed,” Bayik said in remarks to the PKK-linked Firat News Agency that were carried by Turkish media on Saturday.

“We have made clear on every occasion that this process is not limited to disarmament. It is important to spell out the democratic steps that disarmament requires, because arms will be laid down in order to enter a democratic political arena,” he said.

Bayik said another important issue was the status of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and the group’s senior cadres.

Excluding the leadership and a large number of cadres involved in the process from the framework law was a serious problem, he said, adding that the issue must also be resolved for those who would return to Türkiye.

The law, approved by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 18, provides for deferred sentences, the suspension of prosecutions and the conditional return of PKK members who surrender their weapons.

However, according to information that has emerged, it excludes 230 senior figures who will not be allowed to return and may instead be housed in a safe zone in Sulaimaniya in northern Iraq.

In an explicit warning that the process could be halted, Bayik said: “If the process falters because democratic steps are absent, the responsibility will lie with the Turkish government.

Democracy can provide a solution to the Kurdish issue, and through this law the government implicitly acknowledges these matters.

“If this process does not advance through democratic steps, it will be obstructed, and the government will bear responsibility.”

Bayik said parliament would “undoubtedly” be the decisive institution in resolving the Kurdish issue.

He called for constitutional and legal amendments recognizing the existence of the Kurds, their language, culture and political will, as well as their rights to local self-government, saying lasting peace could not be achieved without them.

Implementation steps

Bayik’s remarks came as work continued to establish four subcommittees approved at the first meeting of the National Solidarity and Integration Monitoring and Coordination Council on Aug. 24.

The council is chaired by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and includes the ministers of justice, defense, interior and foreign affairs, as well as the intelligence chief, the secretary-general of the presidency and the secretary-general of the National Security Council.

Sources in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said the four subcommittees — Judicial and Legal Coordination; Follow-up and Monitoring; Social Consensus and Integration; and Disarmament and Strategic Coordination — would be formed, and their working mechanisms would be determined during September.

The sources, however, ruled out granting Ocalan formal status or direct membership in any committee.

They said Ocalan could contribute in particular to the work of the Disarmament and Strategic Coordination Committee because of his important role in the disarmament phase.

The Kurdish side and the head of the Nationalist Movement Party, an ally of the ruling party, have repeatedly called for Ocalan to be appointed as general coordinator for political participation and integration.

At the same time, Turkish media reports said a security mechanism established among Ankara, Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaimaniya would work intensively until the Turkish parliament begins its new legislative session on Oct. 1.

The mechanism will seek to confirm whether the PKK has withdrawn from 72 positions along the Turkish-Iraqi border and whether the Kurdistan Regional Government has been notified about underground depots containing weapons and heavy ammunition.

Turkish intelligence will verify the information.

Under the plan, camps and caves extending to the Qandil Mountains, including those in the Metina, Zap, Avasin, Basyan and Haftanin areas, will be evacuated by Oct. 1.

About 3,800 PKK members at 18 camps will surrender their weapons. Iraqi border guards and Peshmerga forces will be deployed, particularly in areas near the Turkish border, with the Baghdad and Erbil administrations cooperating in those locations.

Türkiye’s Nefes newspaper, citing unidentified sources, said weapons would be surrendered in the towns of Amedi and Kani Masi in Duhok; at the foot of Mount Qandil and in the town of Koy Sanjaq in Erbil; and in the Ranya district and the town of Said Sadiq in Sulaimaniya.

World

USS Abraham Lincoln Departs Thailand after Port Call

US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departs Laem Chabang Port, near the city of Pattaya on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Chanakarn LAOSARAKHAM / AFP)
US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departs Laem Chabang Port, near the city of Pattaya on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Chanakarn LAOSARAKHAM / AFP)
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USS Abraham Lincoln Departs Thailand after Port Call

US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departs Laem Chabang Port, near the city of Pattaya on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Chanakarn LAOSARAKHAM / AFP)
US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departs Laem Chabang Port, near the city of Pattaya on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Chanakarn LAOSARAKHAM / AFP)

Thousands of US sailors aboard an aircraft carrier departed from Thailand on Sunday, AFP journalists said, concluding its first port call following reports of deteriorating living conditions on board after nine months at sea.

The 5,000-strong crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln docked just north of the resort town of Pattaya, near Bangkok, on Wednesday for five days of rest and recreation after a lengthy Middle East deployment.

Amid Thailand's tourism low season, their arrival raised hopes for businesses in Pattaya, a city known for its beaches and nightlife.

The Lincoln departed from the port of Laem Chabang, a half-hour drive from Pattaya, at around 11:00 am (0400 GMT), AFP journalists saw.

Security was stepped up in Pattaya during the visit, with authorities cracking down on sex workers ahead of the sailors' arrival -- although the mayor denied it was linked.

Despite concerns about possible trouble, local police said Sunday that the port call ended largely without incident.

"Everything went fine," Pattaya police chief Anek Srathongyoo told AFP.

"There were no arrests or arguments except on the first day when Americans had an argument among themselves," he said.

The US Navy sent two sailors back to the Lincoln after a drunken altercation in the early hours of Thursday near Pattaya's nightlife hotspot Walking Street, the police chief said earlier.

He had described the "small scuffle" as "trivial" and said local residents only called police to prevent the dispute from escalating.

Last month, US Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation into conditions on the Lincoln following reports of food shortages, broken plumbing and mental health crises.

President Donald Trump dismissed the concerns, which have fueled criticism of his dragging war on Iran, although the Lincoln was replaced in the Middle East by the USS George Washington.

The enlisted Americans were estimated to have spent up to 100 million baht ($3 million) during their visit, Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches said on Sunday.

In addition, the city benefitted from "selling other supplies such as toothpaste to the ship worth millions of baht (tens of thousands of dollars)", Poramase told AFP.

Media reports said sailors on the Lincoln had gone without basic toiletries, including toothpaste, deodorant and soap, at points during their deployment.

Many of the sailors and Marines spent their time on Thailand's coast shopping and visiting tourism sites, Poramase said.

"It shows that they are missing their families and want to buy some souvenirs for them," he said.

World

US Intelligence: Iran Appears Determined to Continue War

Members of Basij paramilitary forces stand guard outside the Grand Mosalla, on the day international delegates participate in a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 during Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Members of Basij paramilitary forces stand guard outside the Grand Mosalla, on the day international delegates participate in a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 during Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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US Intelligence: Iran Appears Determined to Continue War

Members of Basij paramilitary forces stand guard outside the Grand Mosalla, on the day international delegates participate in a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 during Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Members of Basij paramilitary forces stand guard outside the Grand Mosalla, on the day international delegates participate in a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 during Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Washington: Julian Barnes, Dustin Volz

Iran has grown more confident in its ability to attack targets in the Middle East and appears determined to continue the conflict for months to frustrate the United States, according to US intelligence reports in recent weeks.

In many respects, the assessments reflect what has been observable on the ground as fighting erupted again after a period of relative calm. In the past week, Iran targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz and American troops in the region, and US forces struck inside Iran, killing military personnel and civilians.

The new exchanges have been limited so far. But the intelligence reports, according to people who have read them, suggest that Iran’s hard-line government might be contemplating a significant escalation.

Iran has emerged from months of the on-again, off-again war with a far better understanding of its military strengths and is more sure of its capabilities, according to officials briefed on the intelligence.

The reports, some current and former officials said, suggest that any agreement to fully end the war will be hard to reach. There are few signs that Iran is ready to make any sort of deal with the United States, content to exacerbate US President Donald Trump’s political problems ahead of the US midterm elections, according to some officials.

A man drives next to a billboard of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Trump, for now, is not pursuing negotiations and has said he believes he can apply economic pressure on Iran that would force Tehran to make concessions on its control of the strait and perhaps, eventually, its nuclear program. But in the short term, US economic sanctions are likely to continue to provoke escalation, according to officials who have read the intelligence reports.

In the coming weeks, Iran could take actions akin to what it did in July, according to US officials. At that time, Iran attacked American military bases in the Middle East, killing three Americans in Jordan; struck shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; and struck infrastructure in Kuwait and elsewhere.

US officials also believe that Iran-linked hackers were most likely responsible for cyberattacks on more than 100 water systems throughout the United States in late July. Though there were no indications any system was degraded in a way that made water unsafe to drink, the attacks in some cases led to disruptions that required manual overrides and precautionary boil-water advisories.

Current and former officials said the hackers have also shown interest in attacking American oil and gas infrastructure, though those systems are generally seen as harder to penetrate. It is not clear whether any energy systems have been breached.

There are signs that Iran-linked hackers may have regrouped in recent months after sustaining some losses at the start of the war, according to current and former US officials.

Even absent serious disruptions, cyberattacks are likely to remain an appealing way for Iran to seek to undermine public support in the United States for an already unpopular war, former intelligence officials and security experts said.

Alex Orleans, a former US government cybersecurity contractor who specializes in tracking Iranian hacking groups, said Iran’s cyberoperators probably feel emboldened. “Even if such attacks fail to meaningfully unsettle the American public, they can still play into a broader effort to exhaust domestic patience with this administration’s handling of the conflict,” he said.

At a news briefing on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance appeared to acknowledge that such attacks could further erode support for a conflict that has no clear end in sight. He sought to downplay the threat to Americans, but said the Trump administration expected Tehran to continue to “try to do a lot of things” to target the United States.

“If you look at the Iranian ability to disrupt the normal lives of Americans, I think it is quite limited,” Vance said, responding to a reporter’s question about cyberattacks. “It’s not zero, but it’s quite limited. I’d be much more worried about cyberattacks from other actors.”

Trump predicted a quick and decisive victory as US and Israeli forces launched the war on Feb. 28. After waves of punishing attacks, the president’s critics say it is painfully clear that the Trump administration underestimated Iran’s resilience.

“Iranians are feeling pretty bullish about their position,” said Representative Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado and a member of the Intelligence Committee. “They have taken substantial damage, but that has always been built into their system. They understand they can take damage, and they are playing a much longer game here.”

People walk near a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump on a building in Tehran, Iran, September 2, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Crow declined to comment on classified assessments, but he said the Iranians believe that they are in a stronger position for several reasons. First, he said, Iran’s formerly splintered leadership is now more united, and the internal opposition has been silenced. Iran also continues to have a stockpile of missiles and drones.

Iran’s leadership also appears to have a more precise understanding of how to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war.

“They have always known the strait was a big bargaining chip, but have come to realize to a greater degree the leverage that gives them,” Crow said.

Others briefed on the reports said Iran probably believes that the US military will be hard pressed to mount major new strikes as its munitions stockpiles dwindle.

And there are signs that Iran is intent to drag out the conflict until at least the midterms, current and former officials said.

Iran, according to officials, understands that the war — and the high gas prices that closing the strait has caused — is politically damaging to Trump and the Republican Party.

“The Iranians think they have maximum leverage,” said Representative Josh Gottheimer, Democrat of New Jersey. “So, from their perspective, why not keep sticking it to the president?”

There are indications that Iran is seeking to spread propaganda that would undermine Trump electorally, as it did during the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.

The New York Times