KYIV, Feb 8 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron, the first leader of a major Western power to meet Vladimir Putin since Russia massed troops near Ukraine, said on Tuesday (Feb 8) he believed steps can be taken to de-escalate the crisis and called on all sides to stay calm.

Macron, who in contrast to the US and British leaders, has played down the likelihood that Russia may soon invade its neighbour, shuttled from Moscow to Kyiv on Tuesday in a high-profile bid to act as a mediator.

The French president had no breakthroughs to announce - his office rowed back on Tuesday after an official said overnight that Putin had promised him Russia would not stage military manoeuvres near Ukraine for the time being.

But Macron said he thought his talks had helped prevent the crisis from escalating further. Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had told him they were committed to the principles of a 2014 peace agreement, he said, adding that this deal, known as the Minsk accords, offered a path to resolving their ongoing disputes.

"This shared determination is the only way allowing us to create peace, the only way to create a viable political solution," Macron told a joint news conference with Zelenskiy.

"Calm ... is essential from all parties in words and in deeds," Macron said, praising Zelenskiy for "the sangfroid that you are showing, and which the Ukrainian people are showing, in the face of military pressure on your borders and on your country".

Zelenskiy, for his part, made clear he was sceptical of any assurances Macron may have received from Putin. "I do not really trust words, I believe that every politician can be transparent by taking concrete steps," the Ukrainian leader said.

Macron flew later to Berlin for a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a statement alongside Macron before the talks began, Scholz told reporters, "Our common goal is to prevent a war in Europe."

Scholz added: "Our appraisal of the situation is united, as is our position on this: any further attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is unacceptable and will draw wide-reaching consequences for Russia - politically, economically and geo-strategically ..."

Earlier on Tuesday, Macron defended the outcome of his talks in Moscow on Monday, which brought no major breakthrough, telling reporters he had never expected "for one second" that Putin would make concessions.