MOSCOW - Belgian-born Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme has expressed his willingness to visit Russia as an ambassador of peace, TASS news agency reported, according to a video posted on Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko’s Telegram channel.
"We want to come to Russia. We’ll try to do this the way you (Russian President Vladimir Putin) want to do this -- to be an ambassador of peace,” he said in the recording.
"I would be honoured to have this title,” he added, noting that he would like to engage in discussions with the Russian leadership focused solely on "peace, sport and happiness.”
Responding to the actor’s remarks, the Russian Presidential Envoy for International Cultural Cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, described Van Damme’s proposal as appropriate and necessary for fostering mutual understanding.
"The more famous and renowned personalities like Jean-Claude Van Damme want to come to Russia to see with their own eyes what is happening in our country and understand that it is unified around the President and the values we stand for today, the better,” he told TASS.
Shvydkoy also stressed that any peace initiative, particularly at this time, deserves serious attention.
"Especially considering that Russia has its own interests that should not be overlooked,” he added. - BERNAMA