Washington (CNN) Russia appointed actor Steven Seagal as a "special representative" on US-Russian humanitarian ties, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in statement on its official Facebook page Saturday. 
 
 According to the statement , the action star's role will be to promote US-Russia relations "in the humanitarian sphere," adding that the role will include collaboration "in the sphere of culture, public and youth exchanges." 
 
 The foreign ministry said the unpaid role will be similar to the United Nations' goodwill ambassador positions. 
 
 Seagal, who became a Russian citizen in 2016, is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He attended Putin's recent swearing-in ceremony in May. 
 
 Seagal has been an ardent supporter of Putin, going so far as to defend his government against allegations of election meddling in the United States. He told Piers Morgan on the British ITV network's "Good Morning Britain" last year, "For anyone to think that Vladimir Putin had anything to do with fixing the elections, or even that the Russians have that kind of technology, is stupid." 
 
 "And this kind of propaganda is really a diversion ... so that the people in the United States of America won't really see what's happening, " he added. 
 
 In the interview, Seagal also praised Putin as "a great world leader" and a "brilliant tactician." 
 
 In 2013, BuzzFeed reported that Putin suggested to President Barack Obama that Seagal serve as an honorary envoy of Russia to help improve relations between the two countries. Also that year, California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher credited Seagal with facilitating meetings for a congressional delegation that visited Russia in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings to investigate the suspects' backgrounds and discuss intelligence sharing issues. 
 
 CNN has reached out Seagal's spokesperson for comment. ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Steven Seagal at the Kremlin in Moscow on Nov. 25. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin via AP) 
 
 MOSCOW — In an ending fit for Hollywood, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday presented American action star Steven Seagal with a freshly minted Russian passport, consummating an odd-couple bromance that has blossomed despite years of dark relations between the two men's respective countries. 
 
 Seagal is the latest of an aging generation of movie stars and sportsmen to take Russian citizenship, including French actor Gerard Depardieu in 2013 and boxer Roy Jones Jr. in 2015. Celebrated here for '90s action flicks and YouTube compilations of him swearing in accented Russian, Seagal has become something of a cross-cultural confidant to Putin. In a 2013 interview with RT, Seagal called him “one of the greatest world leaders if not the greatest world leader alive today.” The men have at least two things in common: a love of martial arts and a dislike of the West's criticism of Moscow. 
 
 Seagal now has dual citizenship. 
 
 On Friday, Seagal accepted his new passport with an Aikido-inspired bow, a photograph distributed by the Russian tabloid LifeNews showed. 
 
 “I want to congratulate you and express the hope that this is another, albeit small, gesture and it might be a sign of the gradual normalization of relations between our countries,” Putin told Seagal, according to Reuters. (“Spasibo Bolshoye,” or “thank you very much,” the star of “Under Siege” and “Exit Wounds” replied.) The Kremlin first announced it had granted Seagal citizenship earlier this month. 
 
 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a Russian passport for actor Steven Seagal during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Nov. 25. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin/via AP) 
 
 Seagal, whose grandmother was born in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, has made repeated, and often controversial, trips to Russia. In 2013, he met Chechnya's leader, strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, and danced an impromptu lezginka. In 2014, he joined a group of pro-Putin motorcyclists at a rally in the recently annexed peninsula of Crimea. A 2015 report by BuzzFeed News said that Putin suggested Seagal as an honorary consul to improve relations between the two countries. 
 
 The Moscow mobile operator Megafon has begun releasing advertisements with Seagal, including a version of the “mannequin challenge” at a recent press event. 
 
 Read more: 
 
 Vladimir Putin wants all Russians to be tough like Steven Seagal 
 
 Steven Seagal traveled to Belarus to meet ‘Europe’s last dictator.’ They ate carrots 
 
 Which Vladimir Putin personality matches your own? ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mr Seagal is the latest international actor to be granted Russian citizenship 
 
 US actor Steven Seagal has been given Russian citizenship, the Kremlin says. 
 
 President Putin signed a decree to make the award to the martial arts expert, who starred in Hollywood action thrillers during the 1990s. 
 
 Seagal is friends with Mr Putin, who he has described as "one of the greatest world leaders". 
 
 Mr Putin's spokesman said Seagal was known for his warm feelings towards Russia and his status as a famous actor was a reason to make him a citizen. 
 
 Seagal made headlines when he described Russia's actions in Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, as "very reasonable". A keen guitarist, he played a concert there the same year. 
 
 In 2013 Mr Putin reportedly proposed that Seagal be made an honorary consul of Russia in California and Arizona. 
 
 The move would have made Seagal a potential intermediary between the White House and the Kremlin, Buzzfeed reported. The US refused. 
 
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 Image copyright AFP Image caption President Putin and Seagal have previously teamed up to promote exercise for schoolchildren 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Seagal played a concert in Crimea in 2014 after its annexation by Russia 
 
 Seagal, whose grandmother was from Vladivostok in Russia's far east, has made frequent trips to Russia in recent years and visited Kamchatka and Sakhalin in September. 
 
 He said during the visit that he wanted to spend several months a year in the country, Russia's Tass news agency reported. 
 
 Seagal follows other celebrities including French actor Gerard Depardieu, US mixed martial arts fighter Jeff Monson, US boxer Roy Jones and US snowboarder Vic Wild in taking Russian citizenship. 
 
 Earlier this year Seagal was given Serbian nationality after offering to set up a martial arts school in the capital Belgrade. 
 
 The action star's movie credits include Under Siege and Flight of Fury and he has also starred in his own US reality TV show, Steven Seagal: Lawman.
– Actor Steven Seagal has taken on a new role, though it's not likely the kind you'd expect. Per the AP, the Under Siege star has been appointed as a special envoy to the United States on humanitarian issues. Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the news on its Facebook page Saturday. The ministry said the unpaid role will "facilitate relations between Russia and the United States in the humanitarian field, including cooperation in culture, arts, public and youth exchanges." According to CNN, the role will be akin to the United Nations' goodwill ambassador positions. While not a typical role for an actor known more for his martial arts skills than his diplomatic chops, the announcement is no big surprise for those who've followed Seagal at all in the last few years. A close friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin's, the 66-year-old was made a Russian citizen in late 2016 and has publicly defended the leader from critics who question the legality of his most recent election. Seagal was a guest at Putin's swearing in last May after he won the election. Seagal has also vocally defended the Russian leader's most controversial policies, including Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.