Donald Trump Says Deal Plan Is Not 'Final Offer' as Delegates Assemble for Geneva Talks

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, following strong criticism from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In short remarks from the White House, Trump told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that State Department head Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Russia, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy said that genuine or "dignified" peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, Umerov noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative 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.

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 came from 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 he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep 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 Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine 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.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."