Trump Declares Peace Proposal Is Not 'Final Offer' as Officials Gather for Geneva Meeting

Former President Trump stated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", after strong backlash from Ukrainian leaders and commentators that compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During brief comments from the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve 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 Geneva Talks Involve Various Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, US senators told media outlets that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Critical Deadline

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and surrender advanced weaponry. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy warned that his country faces a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president said that genuine or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Response and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it was a blueprint 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 invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, 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.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser 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."