Germany has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday, as the West started taking punitive measures against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, writes ABC NEWS.

Scholz said his government made the decision in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine that he said marked a “serious break of international law”.

“Now it’s up to the international community to react to this one-sided, incomprehensible and unjustified action by the Russian president”, - he told reporters in Berlin, adding that it was necessary to “send a clear signal to Moscow that such actions won"t remain without consequences”.

“The situation now is fundamentally different”, - Scholz said Tuesday, explaining that the government had decided to withdraw a report on the impact that the pipeline - which hasn’t begun operating yet - would have on the security of Germany’s gas supplies.

“That may sound technical, but it’s a necessary administrative step without which the certification of the pipeline cannot happen now”, - he said. Scholz added that Germany’s Economy Ministry would reassess the situation in light of the latest developments.