🔗 Share this article

Former President Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede land under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre speech last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution depends on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, stated there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, Umerov 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 Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. It said that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", 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. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" 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.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. 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.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient without American support. 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 forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

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