Donald Trump Says Deal Plan Is Not 'Final Offer' as Representatives Gather for Geneva Talks

Ex-leader Trump indicated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments from the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also excludes 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 involving preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, he noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little in the proposed deal 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 it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

European Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."