"What we do not want is for the war between Russia and Ukraine... to evolve into a war between Russia and NATO," he said during an open-doors event in Berlin in response to a question about why Berlin was delaying the decision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pressing Germany for Taurus missiles, which have a range of 500 kilometers (311 miles).
Scholz told a German broadcaster in an interview last week that his government was assessing the possibility of granting Ukraine's wish. Talks are underway about whether the weapon could be modified to make it impossible for Ukraine to strike inside Russia.