"Countries are committed to the paths taken by their heads of state or government," he told reporters.
"Germany also has a head of government," he said of Merkel, saying it was she who was "responsible before her people and her parliament".
His comments come as Merkel's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer openly challenges her over Germany's immigration policy after welcoming more than one million people fleeing war and poverty since 2015.
Merkel's welcome to refugees infuriated Seehofer and his CSU, the sister party of her Christian Democrats in the southern state of Bavaria, which became the main entry point for most migrants.
In an unprecedented split between the CDU and CSU, Seehofer has openly defied Merkel with a demand to allow border police to turn back migrants who lack valid identity papers or are already registered in another EU country.
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