🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after intense reaction from Ukraine's leaders and commentators who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, Trump has set Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, Umerov added: 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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed his anger 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 deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying 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 remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted 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. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."