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Former President Trump remarked on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan constituted "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short comments from the White House, Trump informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Switzerland Talks Include Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president emphasized that genuine or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said they will hold discussions with the US 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 Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it requires "additional work". The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he said. If it didn’t, 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 Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Officials Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."