'We must avoid a hard Brexit': German Finance Minister Scholz

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz attends a press conference after the federal cabinet meeting in Potsdam, Germany November 15, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Friday he hoped European Union leaders and British lawmakers would back an agreement on Britain's departure from the bloc to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

"I am pleased that now a discernable contractural document exists, where one can see an amicable solution would be possible," Scholz told German lawmakers, adding that it would be good if a majority of British lawmakers backed the agreement.

"We must avoid a hard Brexit," Scholz said. "That would be hard for the United Kingdom and citizens there, but everyone in Europe would suffer."

(Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by Thomas Escritt)