Trump States Deal Plan Isn't 'Final Offer' as Delegates Assemble for Swiss Talks

Ex-leader Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was "not my final offer", after strong criticism from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, the US president informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, 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."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: 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 the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement 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 added. If it didn’t, 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 remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that the country 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 predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready ceding certain regions for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

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