Berlin accused Moscow today of falsely claiming Chancellor Angela Merkel had tried to pressure Bulgaria to select a new candidate to succeed UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said a Russian official representative had "spread things that are objectively false", branding the move as "unfriendly".
Yesterday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserted that at this month's G20 summit, Moscow had indicated to Merkel in a "clear way" that "any direct or indirect attempt to influence (Bulgaria) was unacceptable".
The skirmish comes as Bulgaria has worked, according to some media, to change its candidate for the post of UN secretary general, which becomes vacant next year.
Bulgaria would replace UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova as its candidate with European Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva, according to these reports.
A spokesman for the EU executive declined to comment today on "speculation in the press".
Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Rumiana Bachvarova said today that Bokova's candidacy was "not sufficiently convincing" and that there would be "news in coming days" on the subject.
Ten candidates are running to succeed Ban, and the name of the next secretary-general could be announced in October at the earliest.
After four preliminary votes as an indication to the UN Security Council, the former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres, who also served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is leading the race, with Bokova in fifth position.
At the next round of voting on October 4, the five permanent and veto-wielding members of the Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China - could potentially block any of the candidates, changing the dynamics of the race.
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