French actor Gerard Depardieu has been personally handed his new Russian passport by the country president Vladimir Putin.

The two met for dinner at the Black Sea coastal city of Sochi on Saturding, after Depardieu was granted Russian citizenship earlier in the week.

The French movie star has been threatening to leave France over the proposed introduction of a 75 percent tax on earnings over one million euros.

The Kremlin has been keen let the world know about Russia’s 13 percent flat rate on income tax.

In a letter published in the Russian press, Depardieu praised the cultural, social and political

virtues of his new home and promised to learn the language.

He initially talked about moving to Belgium, but authorities there warned if the French actor became Russian, they would consider his request for naturalisation “differently”.