The American visit comes as the Russian military claimed to have recaptured Sudzha - a key town in the Kursk region that Ukraine invaded last year in a surprise attack.

The announcement comes as Russian troops are close to driving out Ukrainian troops from their last foothold in the Kursk region.

Putin lauded the US proposal as “great and correct” and said Russia supports it in theory, but there are many things that still need to be discussed. The comments come as American special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to brief Kremlin officials on the peace plan,

The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian claim that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of a key town in Russia's Kursk border region.