Germany's Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has previously received criticism after a statement that the country does not recognize the arrest warrant that the ICC has issued against Israel's Prime Minister, who is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Merz has clarified that Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested or extradited to the court in The Hague if he travels to Germany.
But President Frank-Walter Steinmeier believes that such a situation is best avoided.
We should not ignore international law, but in this case we should avoid putting it to the test, he says to the radio channel Deutschlandfunk, according to the news agency DPA.
Germany's president has mainly representative tasks, while the Federal Chancellor is the head of government.
