ST. PETERSBURG, April 5. /TASS/. Russia will not appoint its Permanent Representative to NATO unless and until it sees that the alliance is ready for serious work, Andrei Kelin, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s European Cooperation Department, told reporters on Thursday.

"This position will remain vacant until we see the actual readiness on the part of NATO to work seriously," he said.

The diplomat noted that the military-political situation in Europe continues to be complex, and measures are required to ease tensions. "However, we see no willingness to conduct a serious dialogue," he went on to say. "Therefore, against this background, one can safely say that our mission cannot function there to the full extent due to objective circumstances."

The position of Russian Permanent Representative to NATO has remained vacant after Alexander Grushko who earlier served as Russia’s envoy to NATO was appointed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister at the end of 2017.