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Former President Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong backlash from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators told the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede land under its control to Russia, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up 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 of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. 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".

In a Facebook post, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow 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 said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country 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 expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."