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Former President Trump remarked this past weekend that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", after fierce criticism from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks at the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Multiple Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, US senators informed media outlets that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede territory under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn address on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future involving preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Yermak.

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

Hinting at red lines, Umerov 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 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 enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council released a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he said he was outraged 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 for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" lacking US backing. 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 cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. 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."