New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS): Germany has stopped the certification process for the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in reaction to Russia's recognition of the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk in east Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced, The Guardian reported.

On Tuesday morning, Germany's Energy Minister, Robert Habeck instructed the withdrawal of a positive assessment required to authorise the pipeline between Russia and Germany.

"Without this certification, Nord Stream 2 cannot go into operation," Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin, the report said.

The German leader described Putin's recognition of the Russian-controlled territories as a "grave breach" of international law that broke with decades of agreements between Russia and the west.

"The situation today is fundamentally different."

Ambassadors for the 27 EU member states met this morning in Brussels to discuss the next steps with regard to sanctions against Russia, The Guardian reported.

The EU's foreign affairs wing, the European External Action Service (EEAS), proposed sanctioning 27 persons and entities involved in the Kremlin's decision to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk, the 351 members of the Duma who voted in favour of it, and the 11 who proposed it, along with the commanders of the Russian military "peacekeeping" mission. Viktor Orban's government in Hungary has refused to support the move at this stage, the report said.