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Ex-leader Trump indicated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following strong reaction from Ukrainian officials and commentators that likened it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Include Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Critical Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires 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 atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that genuine or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, stated there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, 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 a White House apparently intent to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little 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 give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."