Donald Trump Says Peace Proposal Isn't 'Final Offer' as Delegates Convene for Geneva Summit

Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that his Russian-prepared peace plan was "not my final offer", after fierce reaction from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Include Various Nations

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to cede land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future involving keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Talks

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

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

Hinting at limits, he added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has sought to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO must be involved on some of its provisions, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to a similar category, where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little in the Trump agreement and continued to keep 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 sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, said 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."