News - Middle East: Russia has rejected Ukraine's proposal for a pullout of Russian troops this Christmas, saying Kiev needs to accept "new realities" with regards to territories in the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russian forces to withdraw from Ukraine this Christmas. At a virtual meeting with leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) on Monday, he said, "The answer from Moscow will show what they really want – further confrontation with the world or finally [a] cessation of the aggression. The one who brought the war upon us has to take it away."

Responding to Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Tuesday that withdrawing troops was "out of the question."

"The Ukrainian side needs to take into account the realities that have developed during this time," he said.

"And these realities indicate that new subjects have appeared in the Russian Federation. They appeared as a result of referendums that took place in these territories. Without taking these new realities into account, no kind of progress is possible," Peskov said.

He said Zelensky's proposal is a step toward "a continuation of hostilities."