Ζεράρ Ντεπαρντιέ: From Russia avec amour - Τα σφιχταγκαλιάσματά του με τον Πούτιν (φωτό και βίντεο)

Δείτε τα... σφιχταγκαλιάσματά του Ζεράρ Ντεπαρντιέ, που απέκτησε πρόσφατα ρωσική υπηκοότητα, με τον Βλαντιμίρ Πούτιν

Το άρθρο της Daily Mail:

As a former KGB chief, Vladimir Putin is used to dealing with defectors.

Maybe that’s why he was so happy to greet French tax rebel Gerard Depardieu yesterday after granting him Russian citizenship.

The actor, 64, has been accused of betrayal after quitting his homeland to avoid a new 75 per cent tax rate for millionaires.

Scroll down for video:

Warm welcome: Depardieu was offered citizenship and a passport by the Russian President

Open arms: Russian President Vladimir Putin greets French actor Gerard Depardieu

Welcomed: French actor Gerard Depardieu poses with his new Russian passport on a theatre stage, wearing a traditional folk outfit, after he arrived in the city of Saransk, 435 miles east of Moscow, Russia, on Sunday

Dinner talk: The actor enjoyed an evening meal with President Putin at his residence in Sochi

Lively debate: Depardieu gestures during his meeting with Putin

Table talk: The actor has decided to leave his native France over a proposed tax hike for millionaires

Over 45 years, Depardieu said, he had paid €145million euros in tax, and to this day employs 80 people. Last year he paid taxes amounting to 85 per cent of his income.

'I am neither worthy of pity nor admirable, but I shall not be called 'pathetic', he concluded.

'I'm a true European, a citizen of the world.'

New document: Gerard Depardieu shows off his Russian passport on Sunday at Mordovia airport in Saransk

Russian appeal: Depardieu is well-known in Russia, where he is attached to a number of advertising campaigns

Widespread fame: The French actor is a popular figure in Russia