Hollywood star - "good friend of Mr. Putin" appointed as special envoy for relations with the US
The Russian government has just appointed famous Hollywood martial arts star Steven Seagal as special envoy for humanitarian relations between the country and the United States.
The 66-year-old actor Seagal has starred in more than 60 films, the most famous of which are the action films "Above the Law" and "Under Siege". In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the veteran actor's mission is to "contribute to the further development of Russia-US relations in the humanitarian field, including cultural, artistic, public and youth exchanges".
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| Western media calls Hollywood actor Steven Seagal (right) "a good friend of Mr. Vladimir Putin". Photo: NPR |
According to RT, Mr. Seagal will not receive any remuneration for his role as Moscow's special envoy. The Russian Foreign Ministry described this as "a case of people's diplomacy combined with traditional diplomacy," similar to the roles of goodwill ambassadors of the United Nations.
TASS news agency quoted the martial arts star as saying: "I always try to do everything possible to help improve Russia-US relations. For a long time, I have done it without an official title. Now it is a great honor for me to do this officially."
Not only is Seagal a master of Japanese martial arts (a black belt in Aikido), he is also often referred to by Western media as "a good friend of Vladimir Putin", after he was personally awarded a Russian passport by President Putin in Moscow in 2016.
| President Putin presented a Russian passport to actor Seagal in 2016. |
In May, Mr. Seagal was banned from entering Ukraine for five years after appearing on stage at a concert in Crimea. Ukraine still considers Crimea part of its territory, even though the peninsula voted to secede and join Russia in 2014. At the time, Mr. Seagal joked that, in addition to his black belt in martial arts, he also had “a black list” in his collection.
