Peskov: Steven Seagal asking insistently to be granted Russian citizenship

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to US actor Steven Seagal, the Kremlin said.

"He was asking quite insistently and over a lengthy period to be granted citizenship. He is well known for his warm feelings towards our country and has never hidden them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Seagal is the latest in a string of high-profile Westerners to be granted Russian citizenship after buddying up with Putin.

French actor Gerard Depardieu was given a Russian passport in 2013. Putin has also handed out citizenship to US boxer Roy Jones Jr and to American mixed martial artist Jeff Monson, the Daily mail reports.

Seagal's fame peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s with films such as "Under Siege" and "Above the Law", but he remains hugely popular in eastern Europe and was granted Serbian citizenship in January.