German Chancellor Angela Merkel sees as "absolutely unacceptable" a top US diplomat's use of an expletive in commenting on the EU's handling of the Ukraine political crisis, her spokeswoman said Friday.

"The chancellor considers this statement absolutely unacceptable ... and wants to emphasise again that (EU foreign policy chief Catherine) Ashton is doing an outstanding job," the spokeswoman said. "The European Union will continue with its intensive efforts to calm the situation in Ukraine."