He is on trial for killing 77 people and will be questioned over his gun rampage on Utoeya island, where the majority of his victims died.
Breivik, who admits the killings but denies criminal responsibility, again avoided his previous right-wing salute.
He says his targets were those responsible for "multiculturalism".
So far Breivik has provided a detailed account of the preparation and motivation for the attacks, when he car-bombed government buildings in Oslo, killing eight, and then drove to Utoeya island to shoot participants in a Labour Party youth camp, killing 69.
On Thursday, he horrified watching survivors and relatives of victims when he pledged he would do the same again.
But in his initial questioning on Friday, he said he "absolutely" understood why these were "exacting things for people to hear".
"It's about gruesome, barbaric acts and I cannot even start to conceive what it is like for others," he said.
"And I think I would not be able to carry out the court and police interviews. I have tried to de-emotionalise myself from this. I use a more technical language. If I did not, I do not think I would be able to talk about this at all." » | Friday, April 20, 2012
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