🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and analysts who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, Trump informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to the talks, US senators told media outlets that State Department head Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details 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 independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving 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 in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Talks

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators 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 who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded "barely anything" 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 said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager 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 Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, 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 – further hostilities could arise.

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