TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will address a meeting of the Russian State Duma lower house of parliament on Thursday, First Deputy Speaker Alexander Zhukov said on Monday after a Duma Council meeting.

"On Thursday, the meeting will begin with a speech of the president of Iran," TASS quoted Zhukov as saying.

Late last year, Iranian cabinet spokesperson Bahadori Jahromi said Raisi will visit Russia at the start of 2022 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Putin and his Iranian counterpart would take inventory of the entire bilateral agenda during Raisi’s upcoming visit to Russia.

‘Raisi visit to Russia seen as continuation of balanced foreign policy’

Also, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that Raisi’s planned visit to Russia is the continuation of Tehran’s well-balanced foreign policy course. 

"The president’s visit will take place after several invitations of the Russian leader and has a special meaning. It is the continuation of the government’s well-balanced foreign policy course," he said, according to TASS. 

According to the spokesman, the visit’s agenda will include “various issues in the spheres of culture, politics, economy, technological and humanitarian cooperation."