Russia says there have been no discussions about a New Year's ceasefire.
Currently, there have been no discussions about a possible ceasefire by the New Year of 2026.
According to RIA Novosti on December 3, Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti that a New Year's ceasefire in the areas of the special military operation has not yet been discussed.
Russia maintains that the issue can only be resolved after addressing the root causes of the conflict, including threats to national security from NATO expansion and the repression of the Russian-speaking community in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that current calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine contradict the agreements reached by US and Russian leaders in Alaska in August 2025.
On the US side, in an interview with Fox News on December 2nd (local time), Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the main point of contention in negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine is that 20% of Donetsk territory remains under Kyiv's control.
"What they are really arguing about right now is an area of about 30 to 50 kilometers and 20% of the Donetsk region that remains under Ukrainian control. We have tried to find, and I think we have made some progress, what the Ukrainian side can accept to guarantee their security in the future," Foreign Minister Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
Meanwhile, Politico quoted NATO officials as saying that some member states of the alliance assert that they have their own "red lines" that need to be taken into account when resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
The newspaper noted that these "red lines" relate to a number of issues, including Ukraine's membership in the coalition and the deployment of troops and weapons on the territory of allies.
