Scholz said this on Friday during a conference of the Bundeswehr in Berlin.
"I want to say absolutely unequivocally that, probably, at least in retrospect, it would have been quite correct to react more harshly to the annexation of Crimea," the German chancellor said.
According to him, in such a case, the idea of such an attack on Ukraine, perhaps, "would not have captured the thoughts of President Vladimir Putin so much."
The international community imposed sanctions against Russia after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. At the same time, Germany did not stop economic and diplomatic relations with Moscow.