Russia has been told by the United States that it has granted approval for the appointment of the new Russian ambassador to Washington, a senior Russian lawmaker told state television on Monday.

The new ambassador may be formally appointed in the coming weeks, said Grigory Karasin, head of the International Affairs Committee in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament.

"The agrément has not yet been received," Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told the TASS state news agency.

Neither Karasin nor Zakharova named the new ambassador. The last Russian ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, left his post in October.

Russia will name Alexander Darchiev, currently head of the foreign ministry's North American department, as its new ambassador to Washington, the Kommersant newspaper reported in November.