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Former President Trump indicated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, after strong criticism from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to these discussions, American lawmakers told media outlets that State Department head Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the nature of the leaked plan. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to cede land under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it excludes international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president said that real or "dignified" peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, headed by top aide Yermak.

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

Hinting at limits, Umerov noted: "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 Reaction and Criticism

The Ukrainian president has attempted 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 the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, saying it requires "additional work". It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, Nayyem expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. This offended those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, commented that Russia had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little 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 remarked.

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.

Diverse Perspectives from Ukrainian Citizens

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" 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 said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that Ukraine should be ready 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 proposed.

EU Leaders Criticize the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it 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 – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition of an appeaser 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."