US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin yesterday in the Kremlin to tout Washington's plan to settle the Ukraine conflict, a day after Donald Trump issued a direct appeal to the Russian president to halt his offensive.

Trump has been trying to broker a truce between Moscow and Kyiv to end three years of fighting, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin despite several rounds of negotiation.

Russia launched its full-scale offensive on Ukraine in 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since become embroiled in a huge, bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands.

Video published by Russian state media showed Witkoff meeting Putin at the Kremlin, with the two smiling, shaking hands before beginning talks.

The billionaire real estate investor is playing a key role in Washington's peace efforts and had already met Putin on three previous occasions since Trump returned to the White House in January. Trump has threatened to walk away from talks if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire.

Russia, which has warned against rushing into a peace settlement, said Thursday it was "ready to reach a deal" but needed certain issues addressed first. The US has not revealed the details of its peace plan, but has suggested freezing the front line and accepting Russian control of Crimea -- a peninsula annexed by the Kremlin in 2014 -- in exchange for peace.