BERLIN, March 1. /TASS/. The German government thinks that Russia should be the first to take a step towards achieving peace in Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint press conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins in Berlin on Wednesday.

Scholz argued it was "clear" to him that Russia had attacked Ukraine, and that Russia was the country that "must do something" to make peace possible. He would like to see the withdrawal of Russian troops in the first place.

Scholz stated that attention should now be paid to what he described as "the security policy situation on NATO's eastern flank."

"In the event of an attack, we will together defend every centimeter of the alliance's territory," Scholz argued. He assured that the West would continue to "support Ukraine as much as necessary."