Asked if the Reuters report that Russia had made peace proposals was true, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No. It is not true."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent signals to Washington in 2023 in public and privately through intermediaries, including through Moscow's Arab partners in the Middle East, that he was ready to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine, Russian sources told Reuters.

Intermediaries met in Turkey in late 2023, according to three Russian sources, and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan telephoned Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, in January.

(Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Guy Faulconbridge)