🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following intense reaction from Ukrainian officials and analysts that likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short comments at 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 Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva this 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 told media outlets that State Department head Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up land under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

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 Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult 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 rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded very little 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 it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. 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 give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized 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 – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

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