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Ex-leader Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong criticism from Ukrainian officials and commentators that compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will 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 they will hold consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, he 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."

International Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender 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 the European Council issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, saying it requires further refinement. It said 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 text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said 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.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained 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 it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted 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."