German Chancellor Angela Merkel refused to place an upper limit on refugees that the country accepts, speaking in an annual interview broadcast on Sunday.
Distancing herself from the position of her conservative Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), Merkel, who leads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said placing a limit on refugees was not the way forward.
"As far as an upper limit is concerned, my position is clear: I will not accept it," she said, saying that numbers could be reduced by regulation and taking action to prevent the situations that cause people to flee one country for another.