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Former President Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following intense reaction from Ukraine's leaders and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short remarks 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, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. 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 Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory under its control to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Geneva, led by top aide Yermak.

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

Suggesting red lines, Umerov added: 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 Criticism

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

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to a similar category, with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "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 Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted 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 said 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, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy 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."