Steven Seagal becomes Russia's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Relations with the United States
The Russian Foreign Ministry has appointed Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, who has Russian citizenship, as its special envoy on issues of Russian-American humanitarian ties, the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.
"The task is to facilitate further development of Russian-American relations in the humanitarian field, including cooperation in culture, art, public and youth exchanges," said the ministry.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that it is a socio-political position, not involving any monetary reward.
"It is the case when people's diplomacy meets traditional diplomacy. In international practice, it is possible to draw parallels with the functions of the UN Goodwill Ambassadors, "said the report.
Zakharova called Seagal her work colleague.
In November 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to the American actor Steven Seagal.
Seagal supported Putin's policy towards Ukraine, in particular, the annexation of the Crimea. He repeatedly visited the Russian Federation over the past few years. In 2017, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) banned Seagal from entering Ukraine for a period of 5 years.