🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated this past weekend that his Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief remarks from the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, US senators informed media outlets that State Department head 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 rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory under its control to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days between preserving its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting 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."

Global Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

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 further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from a similar category, with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem said he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little in the Trump agreement and maintained 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 said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

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

European Officials Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

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