Donald Trump Says Deal Proposal Is Not Ultimate Proposal as Officials Gather for Geneva Meeting

Ex-leader Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce criticism from Ukraine's leaders and commentators who likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, reduce its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that genuine or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, Umerov 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."

International Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. 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.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine should be ready ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured 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 strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement 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."