Donald Trump Declares Peace Proposal Isn't 'Final Offer' as Officials Gather for Swiss Summit

Former President Trump remarked on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce criticism from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, the US president informed journalists: 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

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country faces a difficult decision over the coming days involving preserving its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at 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."

Global Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "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 people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Officials Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill 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."