Russia rejects Christmas truce proposal, says it seeks 'sustainable peace'

The Kremlin has rejected the idea of a temporary Christmas truce, explaining that it is aimed at achieving “sustainable peace” rather than giving Ukraine a pause to continue fighting. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov made such a statement.

“We want peace. We do not want a truce to give Ukraine a pause and prepare to continue the war, ” Russian media quoted Peskov as saying. He also added that Russia “wants to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.”

As Slovo Delo recalls , earlier, on December 14 and 15, talks between the Ukrainian and American delegations were held in Berlin. According to journalists, most of the issues between the parties were settled, and security guarantees became one of the key points of discussion. Following these talks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a proposal to Russia to stop hostilities at least for the Christmas period. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also supported this initiative, stressing that its implementation depended on the “political will” of the Russian side.