Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Scholz emphasized this message during Putin's participation in a virtual G20 summit.
"I have urged him to withdraw his troops from Ukrainian territory so that this war will finally end," Scholz said.
During the virtual G20 summit, Putin said that the war in Ukraine was "a tragedy" that must be stopped. He insisted that "Russia has never rejected peace talks with Ukraine."
He added: "It is necessary to think about how to end this tragedy."
Scholz, seeing Putin's G20 participation as a critical opportunity to discuss ending the conflict, stated: "It was Russia that attacked Ukraine. Peace can be easily restored, all Russia has to do is withdraw its troops."
The Kremlin continues to justify its actions in Ukraine by claiming that the country is overrun by neo-Nazis, while occupying nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP