By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide said on Thursday he had told Washington that a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States to pause the war in Ukraine would simply give Kyiv's forces a much-needed battlefield respite.

The senior aide to Russia’s president said a U.S.-backed plan for a 30-day truce would help Kyiv to regroup, as the Kremlin declared it is close to ousting Ukrainian forces from its Kursk region.

Russia says it will discuss the U.S. ceasefire proposal, but President Vladimir Putin has signaled he seeks to expel the remnants of Ukrainian forces from Kursk.