🔗 Share this article

Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief remarks from the White House, the US president told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. 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 a difficult decision in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, said they will hold discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said 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 drew comparisons 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, he said 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 families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little 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 said.

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

Varied Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. 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."