Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has asked President Vladimir Putin to give a Russian citizenship to U.S. MMA athlete Jeffrey William Monson.
According to Andrei Svintsov, a Russian legislator from the LDPR party, which Monson recently joined, Mutko's address is likely to have a decisive role in a decision about granting Monson Russian citizenship.
"We hope that the decision will be in his favor," Svintsov was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency TASS. "We expect it to be made already in September or October."
Monson applied for Russian citizenship last year. Earlier this month, Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the athlete's intention to become a Russian citizen, adding that he is "known for his sympathy for Russia."
Monson was recently featured in a music video for a local singer's song entitled "I Want to Live in Russia," alongside Russian MMA athlete Alexei Oleinik.
Two weeks ago, another U.S. athlete, boxer Roy Jones Jr., received Russian citizenship by Putin's decree. He subsequently said he plans to learn the Russian language and open boxing schools in Russia.
Vladimir Kozlov is a writer in Moscow.
