diff --git a/cmd/alertmanager/main.go b/cmd/alertmanager/main.go
index a35e742e..fd8bfa25 100644
--- a/cmd/alertmanager/main.go
+++ b/cmd/alertmanager/main.go
@@ -221,7 +221,10 @@ func main() {
 		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	waitFunc := meshWait(mrouter, 5*time.Second)
+	waitFunc := func() time.Duration { return 0 }
+	if *meshListen != "" {
+		waitFunc = meshWait(mrouter, 5*time.Second)
+	}
 	timeoutFunc := func(d time.Duration) time.Duration {
 		if d < notify.MinTimeout {
 			d = notify.MinTimeout