Russian parliament to hold unscheduled meeting on February 22

Russia’s parliament will hold an unscheduled meeting on February 22, Russian state media reported on Wednesday, citing a source from the parliament’s upper chamber, the Federation Council.

“We’ve been notified that the chamber will meet on February 22. The State Duma [will convene] in the morning, and we [will convene] at 15:00,” said the source.

Federation Council committee chairman Vyacheslav Timchenko confirmed that the parliament’s upper chamber will meet on the 22nd. He said lawmakers will consider “laws on the integration of the new regions into Russia’s legal framework,” referring to the regions of Ukraine that Russia annexed in October.

Federal Council Deputy Chairman Nikolai Zhuravlev, meanwhile, said the body will address laws that are “important for the country’s budget.”

Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Vladimir Putin will address Russia’s Federal Assembly on February 21. According to state media, the event will be followed up by a “large-scale concert and rally event” at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium the following day.