🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump remarked this past weekend that the Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after intense backlash from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short comments at the White House, Trump informed journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Various Nations

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede land under its control to Russia, downsize its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments on Saturday, the president said that genuine or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, 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 Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult 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.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."