Trump Says Peace Plan Isn't 'Final Offer' as Delegates Assemble for Swiss Meeting

Former President Trump indicated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, following fierce reaction from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, the US president told reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Nations

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

Ahead of these discussions, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Deadline

Nevertheless, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable peace was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, he 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 sought to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent 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 Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit held in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. It said that EU and Nato members must be involved on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – 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 Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the proposed deal and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he noted.

Varied Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. It belongs to Ukraine." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.

Speaking in the rain, 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 should be ready ceding certain regions temporarily if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians 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.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."