🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following intense criticism from Ukrainian officials and commentators that likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede land under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

Speaking this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, said they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: "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 Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan 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 the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended 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 concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," 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 vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country 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, Olena Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."