MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) - Russia will invite foreign observers to monitor the presidential election in late January.

"Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman Vladimir Churov sent a letter to Christian Strohal, the Director of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR), informing him of Russia's plans to invite foreign (international) observers for the presidential election," the CEC told Interfax on Tuesday.

Invitations will be sent after the candidates' registration is completed as required by Russian laws, which will be on January 28-30, 2008, the CEC said.

Churov also invited the OSCE ODIHR director to attend the third international workshop on exchanging experience in election monitoring in St. Petersburg on February 11- 12, 2008, which will be held by the Russian CEC in cooperation with the CIS Inter-parliamentary assembly.

Similar letters were sent by the CEC chairman to his colleagues in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Spain, Tajikistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan, and to the secretariat of the association of organizers of elections in Central and Eastern Europe, the CEC said.