EU to aid Lebanese army with 100 million euros

The European Council announce on Thursday to provide 100 million euros in assistance under the European Peace Facility (EPF) to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

The new assistance package -- the fourth bilateral assistance measure provided to Lebanon under the EPF, aims at strengthening the LAF's overall capacity to monitor, control and secure Lebanon's territory, and to uphold the state's monopoly on arms and ensure protection of civilians, according to a statement of the Council.

Following the new approval, the total assistance provided to Lebanon under the EPF has reached 182 million euros.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia is fully prepared and willing to negotiate with Ukraine at a U.S. military facility in Anchorage, Alaska, while his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting.

At a meeting with heads of major international news agencies attending the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said Russia remains prepared to pursue a negotiated settlement based on a framework discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in Anchorage in August 2025.

He said Russia is ready to accept the compromises discussed at the meeting and expressed hope that the Ukrainian side would also agree to them.

Ukraine has previously rejected the Anchorage framework, as it calls for Ukraine to cede territory.

Meanwhile, Putin said Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact and have taken complete control of the Luhansk region, 85 percent of the Donetsk region and 80 percent of the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia's Presidential Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev said at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday that despite efforts by forces seeking to prolong the war to disrupt talks between Russia and the U.S., bilateral engagement on Ukraine has made substantive progress.

Dmitriev dismissed reports that Russia-U.S. contacts have stalled, accusing other European nations of spreading disinformation to hinder the peace process.

Dmitriev also said that on Wednesday he had spoken by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and discussed bilateral economic cooperation.

He said the U.S. side had underscored the need to embrace peace rather than engage in constant provocations and confrontations.

The U.S. has been pushing for peace and Ukraine should join the process, Dmitriev noted, adding there were plans for further contacts with Witkoff and Kushner next week.

Later on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter to Putin, proposing to end the conflict through direct talks between the two leaders.

Relevant parties, including European countries and the U.S., should be part of the peace negotiations, the letter stated.

Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire during the talks and proposes an exchange of prisoners of war on the principle of "all for all," Zelensky also said in the letter.