Trump Says Deal Plan Isn't Ultimate Proposal as Officials Gather for Geneva Summit

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after strong reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts that likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, Trump told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. 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 Faces Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, stated there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

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

International Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that enshrines the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said his anger 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 for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, said that the country would "keep strong" lacking US backing. 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.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that the nation should be ready to give away certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."