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Former President Trump indicated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following strong criticism from Ukraine's officials and analysts who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country faces a difficult decision over the coming days between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, he added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps."

International Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

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

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little in the proposed deal and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he remarked.

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 military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While 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 suggested that Ukraine should be ready to give away certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a catastrophe, 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 – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."