The European Parliament is to call for urgent political and economic reform in Russia in a resolution to be debated at a plenary session on March 15, in the wake of Russia's disputed presidential elections, the parliament's press secretary said on Saturday.

The resolution will be proposed ahead of a parliamentary debate on the situation in Russia, which will be attended by the EU's chief diplomat Catherine Ashton and representatives of Denmark, the chair nation of the EU, on March 14, a source told RIA-Novosti news agency.

A coalition of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats For Europe (ALDE) the third largest in the European Parliament, will initiate their own debate in Strasbourg on March 13, to which Russian opposition leaders Mikhail Kasyanov, Gary Kasparov and representatives of the Yabloko party have been invited.

ALDE's reporter on Russia, MEP Kristina Ojuland, has called for the downgrading of the twice-yearly Russia-EU summit to a lower level.

Ojuland has previously called for freezing relations between the EU parliament and Russia's State Duma if Russia cannot guarantee conduct of what the EU considers free and fair elections.