FILE PHOTO: German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer gives a statement in Berlin, Germany, November 5, 2018, on controversy surrounding former domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maassen. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

BERLIN (Reuters) - Horst Seehofer, the leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party CSU, has not committed to stepping down from that role, his spokesman said in response to a newspaper report.

Die Zeit newspaper had quoted several sources close to Seehofer as saying that he would step down as party chief in the next few days but remain federal interior minister.