German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed her anger at reports from Israeli news outlets that there was a massive row between her and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, was in contact with the prime minister’s staff and made it clear what we think of such distorted reports,” Baerbock said on Friday at the end of the meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialized democracies on the Italian Mediterranean island of Capri.
“We are not commenting about confidential talks,” Baerbock emphasized.
“My office and the German ambassador in Israel have already addressed this,” She added. “We have been told that (they) regret the publication, the source of which is unclear, and we have nothing further to add.”
The German Foreign Office in Berlin had previously described a report about a heated argument between Baerbock and Netanyahu on Wednesday as misleading and claimed that “key points” in the reports about the lengthy meeting are incorrect.
The German Foreign Office did not specify what aspects of the reports were allegedly incorrect.
A journalist from the Israeli TV station Channel 13 had reported that a heated argument erupted after Baerbock objected to being shown Israeli government photos that positively depicted conditions in the Gaza Strip, and reiterated her concerns about dire humanitarian conditions there.