BARCELONA (Reuters) - Any European merger deal between Vodafone and Liberty Global would be "unacceptable" because it would create a monopoly situation in parts of the German market, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges said on Monday.

Hoettges, attending the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, hit back at Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao in an escalating spat over the talks with Liberty. Any deal would be unlikely to receive regulatory approval, he told a news conference.

Vodafone is in early-stage talks about buying Liberty Global's cable assets in some European markets where they both operate - chiefly Germany where they have broadband and cable assets that do not overlap geographically.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

Stocks treated in this article : Deutsche Telekom, Liberty Global PLC, Vodafone Group