Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said sanctions against Russia are meant to get Russian leaders to the negotiating table and find a way to end the conflict with Ukraine.

"We introduce sanctions in order to speak and find ways to solve the problem," Tsipras said at a joint press opportunity with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko following talks in Kyiv on Thursday.

Tsipras said sanctions had hurt Greece's economy, "But we have international experience with imposing sanctions." He added, "We understand the need to react to the situation, but, on the other hand, we think sanctions should be accompanied by measures to find a way out of the situation that has developed … We must have dialogue."

Tsipras said, "It is impossible to impose sanctions simply as a punishment. We don't want that and do not want to talk about that [option]."