🔗 Share this article

Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce reaction from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short comments 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’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country confronts an impossible choice in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon 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 Umerov, said they will hold discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting 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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it requires "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained 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 sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, 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.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" 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 Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders 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 – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."