Donald Trump Says Deal Proposal Is Not Ultimate Proposal as Delegates Assemble for Swiss Talks

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", after fierce criticism from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, the US president informed 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."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and forfeiting key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or "dignified" resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: 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."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

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

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, 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 remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."