🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong criticism from Ukraine's officials and analysts that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump told reporters: "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 we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to cede land it currently controls to Russia, downsize its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a delegation, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, he added: "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."

International Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

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 vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."