German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz attends a media briefing during his visit to Beijing, China, January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

LONDON (Reuters) - The Irish backstop clause in Britain and the European Union’s Brexit transition plan is not a “trick” to keep UK trapped in the bloc, Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Friday.

“Anyone who trusts the agreement, it is not invented to avoid Brexit.. It is just done to keep the peace,” Scholz said at an event at Bloomberg.

“It could be taken without thinking this is a trick how to keep them in the European Union for all time. This is not true... no one is trying to cheat someone here.”