Donald Trump Says Deal Plan Isn't Ultimate Proposal as Officials Assemble for Swiss Talks

Ex-leader Trump remarked on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan was "not my final offer", after strong reaction from Ukraine's officials and commentators who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, Trump informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president emphasized that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov noted: "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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively 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 abandon the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. 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 the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "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 added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader 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. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."