BERLIN, September 16. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz considers it necessary to explore opportunities for launching a peace process on Ukraine.

He told the media during his visit to Astana that the FRG would continue to support Kiev.

"It is also clear to us that at the same time it is constantly and continuously necessary to explore opportunities for launching a peace process," the press service of the German Cabinet quotes him as saying. According to Scholz, "now is the time to see what is possible."

At the same time, the federal chancellor once again accused Russia of aggressive actions and said that Moscow, in his opinion, at any time could have contributed to ending the conflict.

On September 11, Scholz told the Bundestag that it was necessary to hold another conference on a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, in which Russia should take part. On September 8, in an interview with the ZDF television broadcaster he remarked that the moment had come in the conflict in Ukraine to discuss how to achieve peace and advocated Russia's participation in a new summit on resolving the crisis. Scholz argued that "in any case" a new conference would be held.

On September 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a roundtable meeting with foreign ambassadors on Ukraine that Russia was committed to resolving the Ukrainian crisis but had not seen yet reciprocal striving for honest diplomacy.