Donald Trump Says Deal Proposal Isn't 'Final Offer' as Delegates Assemble for Swiss Talks

Former President Trump stated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to 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 Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future between preserving its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

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

Suggesting 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."

International Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. 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, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. 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 give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state 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 said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."