Steven Seagal joins Russian pro-Kremlin party, proposes tougher laws

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Steven Seagal joins Russian pro-Kremlin party, proposes tougher laws
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:May 30, 2021 • 51 minutes ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Steven Seagal attends a meeting of the "A Just Russia - For Truth" party in Moscow, Russia May 29, 2021.
Steven Seagal attends a meeting of the "A Just Russia - For Truth" party in Moscow, Russia May 29, 2021. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /REUTERS
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MOSCOW — Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, a long-time admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has joined a pro-Kremlin party, the the party said on Sunday.

Seagal received a party membership card of an alliance named Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth on Saturday, a video relased by the party showed. It was formed earlier this year, when three leftist parties, all of which support Putin, merged into one.


Seagal, a Russian citizen since 2016, proposed a crackdown on businesses which damage the environment.

“Without being able to arrest people, when we just fine them, they are probably making more money of the production of the things that are defiling the environment,” said in his welcome speech at a party event.

The party controls a faction in the lower house of the Russian parliament and plans to take part in a parliamentary election in September.


Seagal, a U.S.-born martial artist, is best known for producing and starring in action movies, while Putin, who granted him the citizenship, is a fan of martial arts.

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At Saturday’s ceremony, Seagal posed for pictures next to one of the party leaders, Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin, who enrolled in an army of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and admitted to commanding a combat unit in a conflict which has killed 14,000 people in seven years.

In 2018, Russia tasked Seagal with improving humanitarian ties with the United States at a time when relations between the two countries have deteriorated to their worst level since the Cold War.


As a Russian representative, Seagal visited Venezuela earlier in May and presented a samurai sword to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Steven Seagal joins Russian pro-Kremlin party, proposes tougher laws

MOSCOW — Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, a long-time admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has joined a pro-Kremlin party, the the party said on Sunday.

torontosun.com

 

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HMS Queen Elizabeth leads 19 NATO warships in Black Sea show of strength to Putin​

VLADMIR Putin was sent a stark message by British forces after HMS Queen Elizabeth led a series of war games ahead of a trip to the Black Sea.

The huge £3 billion aircraft carrier was joined in Portugal by 19 NATO warships from the US and eight other allied nations for operation Steadfast Defender on Friday. The exercise, which is expected to last until June 22, included submarines, destroyers and frigates and was backed by immense aerial support from the RAF's brand new F-35B Lightning stealth fighters.

It aims to test the Alliance’s readiness and military mobility, with forces deploying across land and sea. Commodore Steve Moorhouse, the ship's commanding officer and captain, called it "a hugely powerful statement."

"It shows that we are a global navy and wanting to be back out there," he said.

His words echoed a new show of strength as Putin prepares to meet Joe Biden in showdown talks later this month.

In April, it was reported that Putin had blocked all foreign warships from reaching the country via the Black Sea.

It materialised as he piled more troops on the border for military drills as he threatened warfare.

Moscow closed part of the Kerch Strait - which separates Crimea in the west from Russia in the east - after US President Biden threatened to send two Navy battleships to the region but then called them off.

The Kremlin had earlier warned US warships to stay well away from the region “for their own good”, calling their potential deployment in the Black Sea a provocation.

Nato chiefs - who were ones of those critical - have since launched a massive spending initiative after Russia annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 with the aim of deterring Putin from incurring any further into Europe.

However, they insisted that the new military exercises involving 9000 troops in Portugal are not aimed at Russia specifically.