By Anastasia Lyrchikova and Maxim Rodionov MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the U.S. the opportunity for joint exploration of the country's rare earth metals deposits, as well as the supply of aluminum to the U.

In an interview broadcast on Monday, President Vladimir Putin said U.S. companies stood to profit in Russia, but suggested a Ukraine peace deal was still far-off.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was not opposed to Europe's involvement in Russia-U.S. peace talks aimed at settling the conflict in Ukraine, but noted that Brussels had long rejected any dialogue with Moscow.

The United States is reportedly nearing a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, according to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East. He said that any potential deal would require both territorial and economic concessions from both sides.

Russia wants a long-term peace deal over Ukraine that tackles what it regards as the root causes of the conflict and not a quick U.S.-backed ceasefire followed by a swift restart of fighting, a senior Russian diplomat told the RIA news agency.