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Former President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong backlash from Ukraine's leaders and commentators that likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, Trump informed 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 it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Various Countries

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

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision over the coming days involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that real or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions 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 Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "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 rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser 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."