Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, has been appointed as a special representative of Russia in the US for humanitarian ties, the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote on Facebook and Twitter on Saturday.
“The task is to facilitate relations between Russia and the United States in the humanitarian field, including cooperation in culture, arts, public and youth exchanges, and so on,” the Foreign Ministry said.
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The Russian foreign ministry has explained that the position is public and is not expected to be paid.
“It is the case when people’s diplomacy meets halfway traditional diplomacy,” the ministry said. “As for international practice, you can draw a parallel with the functions of United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors.”
Putin grants Russian citizenship to Hollywood star Steven Seagal
Born in Michigan, Seagal’s paternal grandparents were Russian Jews who immigrated to the U.S.
When he was granted Russian citizenship in November 2016 the 66-year-old has praised President Putin “one of the great living world leaders”.
The renown martial arts expert Steven Seagal is a 7th-dan black belt in aikido known to admire Vladimir Putin who is also trained in advanced martial arts. Puthi is a Judo black belt and national master in Sambo. The common interests between the two men are the bond which leads to an admiration of both sides to each other.
Seagal gained international fame for roles in the 1980s and ’90s films like “Under Siege.”
Steven Seagal @sseagalofficial, who is a Russian citizen, has been appointed as a special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry @mfa_russia in charge of the ????????#RussiaUS???????? humanitarian ties
➡️ https://t.co/JxYrEdqoig pic.twitter.com/9Mo6CDxLF7
— Russia in USA ???????? (@RusEmbUSA) August 4, 2018
RT quoted Steven Seagal as saying: “I’ve always had a very strong desire to do all I can to help improve Russian-American relations. I have worked tirelessly in this direction for many years unofficially and I am now very grateful for the opportunity to do the same thing officially.”