Madrid has shared with Germany its "surprise" at remarks made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House appearing to support President Donald Trump's threats to cut trade with Spain, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Wednesday.

"I cannot imagine Chancellors (Angela) Merkel or (Olaf) Scholz making such remarks," Albares said in a TV interview with state broadcaster TVE.

Merz on Tuesday said Spain needed "convincing" to agree to NATO's higher defense spending target of 3.5% of gross domestic product after Trump floated imposing a trade embargo on Spain over its position in the ongoing war in the Middle East. 

After his Oval Office meeting with Trump, Merz said on Germany's ARD television, "I told him very clearly: You cannot conclude an isolated agreement with Germany, or an agreement with all of Europe but excluding Spain. We are all in the same boat here."