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Angela Merkel Finds State Department Official's 'F*** The EU' Comment 'Totally Unacceptable'

Merkel Condemns State Department Official For Allegedly Saying 'F*** The EU'
Reuters
Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, pauses during a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. The Turkish lira appreciated the most in a week as the central bank cut funding for lenders, raising the weighted average cost of finance for banks to almost 10 percent. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, pauses during a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. The Turkish lira appreciated the most in a week as the central bank cut funding for lenders, raising the weighted average cost of finance for banks to almost 10 percent. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(note profanity in paragraph 2)

BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel finds the disparaging remarks of U.S. diplomats about the European Union's role in the Ukrainian crisis "totally unacceptable", a spokeswoman said on Friday.

In a leaked conversation posted on Youtube, State Department official Victoria Nuland tells the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in a discussion about the strategy for political transition "fuck the EU". She has apologised to EU officials.

German spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said Merkel appreciated the work of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has led the bloc's efforts to mediate between President Viktor Yanukovich and his opponents who have taken to the streets.

"The chancellor finds these remarks totally unacceptable and wants to emphasise that Mrs Ashton is doing an outstanding job," Wirtz told a news conference. (Reporting by Stephen Brown; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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