Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday paid tribute to the late US diplomat Henry Kissinger, praising his contribution to US-Soviet relations and describing him as a "wise and visionary statesman".

"Henry Kissinger's name is inextricably linked with his pragmatic foreign policy, which in its time paved the way for a detente in international tensions and made it possible to reach the most important Soviet-American agreements that contributed to strengthening global security," Putin said, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.