Russia has named its candidate for new ambassador to the US, but Washington has not yet given its consent, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"As for the Russian ambassador, I can tell you absolutely clearly: there is a candidate, but the consent for him has not yet been received," she said.
As Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov previously stated, Moscow believes that excessive fuss around the situation with the issuance of the consent for the new Russian ambassador to the United States is counterproductive.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the air of the program "60 Minutes" on the channel "Russia 1" said that the United States welcomes Moscow's candidacy for the post of Russian ambassador to Washington.
The newspaper "Kommersant", citing its sources, wrote that the most likely candidate for the post of ambassador is the director of the North American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former ambassador to Canada Alexander Darchiev.
The previous Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov left his post in October last year due to the end of his mission.