( dpa )- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has scheduled a visit to the Kremlin for March 8, straight after the presidential election, sources in Moscow said Saturday.
No confirmation could be obtained from Merkel's spokesman in Berlin for the forecast.
The sources said Merkel would meet with outgoing President Vladimir Putin, who has been earmarked to become prime minister, and with Dmitry Medvedev, seen as the sure winner of the election.
Arriving on Saturday, Merkel would show up just one day after the scheduled announcement of the poll result, making her the first Western leader to meet the new president.
Sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Moscow she would stay about four hours in Moscow. She last visited Russia in May 2007.