MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) confirmed on Friday that it would send a 25-member delegation to monitor Russia's March 2 presidential elections.

"A delegation of 25 members from PACE, led by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), will observe the Presidential election in Russia on 2 March 2008," the organization said on its website.

The parliamentarians will arrive in Moscow on February 27 to meet with presidential candidates and Chairman of the Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov.

The delegations will also hold meetings with lawmakers from the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, representatives from Russian NGOs and the media.

The head of the delegation will hold a news conference to present its preliminary conclusions on March 3.

The Central Election Commission said that a total of 194 foreign observers have received accreditation to monitor Russia's March 2 presidential elections so far, but the number of the observers could rise as the process is still ongoing, with documentation for 21 more monitors still pending.