NATO has defended the use of economic sanctions against Russia, suggesting they could prevent Moscow from invading other countries.

After annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that has not been recognized internationally, Russia said it would not return the region. In response, the United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russian companies and individuals.

Speaking in Austria on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the measures were counterproductive as they had proved harmful to all parties involved.

But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNBC's Willem Marx on Friday that the sanctions were necessary to thwart Russian bullying.

"I think it is at least obvious that if we hadn't done anything it would have lowered the threshold for Russia to do similar things against other countries," Stoltenberg said at the close of a two-day meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.

"Russia has violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbor Ukraine and has continued to destabilize eastern Ukraine. It has to have consequences, it has to have a cost," he added.

Ukrainian, Russian, German and French foreign ministers are due to meet in Berlin on Monday to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine.