🔗 Share this article

Former President Trump remarked this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following intense reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short remarks from the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Deadline

However, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Ukraine to give up territory 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 penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, Umerov added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

Global Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels 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, he 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 Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready 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 Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities would follow.

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."