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Former President Trump remarked on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce backlash from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks from the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to cede land under its control to Russia, reduce its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at red lines, he noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready to give away certain regions for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."