The acting Russian Foreign Minister, M. Igor Ivanov is to visit Dublin next Wednesday for bilateral talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
He will also attend the EU-Russia Troika in Dublin Castle on Thursday.
The EU side will be represented at the Troika by Minister Cowen, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten.
The visit comes only a week after the Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked former Prime Minister Mr Mikhail Kasyanov and his cabinet.
Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko was named as a temporary replacement for Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
Mr Putin made the move less than three weeks before an election that the former KGB spy is set to dominate. The election takes place on the 14th of March.