Russia's President Vladimir Putin has named senior foreign ministry official Nikolai Nozdrev as the country's ambassador to Japan.

Putin signed an executive order for the appointment on Friday.

Nozdrev joined the Foreign Ministry in 1994. He has worked in Australia, and became the director of the ministry's Third Asian Department in 2018.

Japan appointed Muto Akira as ambassador to Russia last month. He replaced Kozuki Toyohisa, who stayed in the role for eight years.

Bilateral ties are currently stalled.

In March 2022, Moscow unilaterally suspended talks on a peace treaty unsigned after World War Two.

The move came after Japan imposed sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine.