The U.S. Senate will not vote on a package to provide more aid to Ukraine and bolster U.S. border security before early next year, as Democratic and Republican negotiators continue their work, chamber leaders said, writes the Reuters.

“Our negotiators are going to be working very, very diligently over the December and January break period, and our goal is to get something done as soon as we get back”, - said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

The chamber’s No. 2 Republican, John Thune, also said a deal would not be reached before January. “Democrats have run out the clock to the point where getting a substantive border security deal passed before Christmas is impossible”, he said on the Senate floor.

In a joint statement, Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said negotiators “are making encouraging progress” but “challenging issues remain”.