Former President Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong criticism from Ukrainian officials and analysts that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.
In short remarks from the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."
Upcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Nations
Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks there.
Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Time Limit
However, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.
During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.
Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Meetings
In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Yermak.
A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, said there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.
Hinting at limits, Umerov added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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 Criticism
The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.
At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.
Public Opinion in Kyiv
Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.
Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. 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".
In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.
Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.
Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.
Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens
A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.
While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.
EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal
Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.
The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."
