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Former President Trump remarked this past weekend that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following strong criticism from Ukrainian officials and analysts who compared it to the Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump informed journalists: 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."

Forthcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Various Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss the plan. Defense representatives from Germany, France, and the UK will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. It calls on Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Russia, downsize its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that his country faces an impossible choice over the coming days between keeping the nation's honor and losing key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at limits, he noted: "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."

Global Reaction and Criticism

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 he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

At a meeting in South Africa, G20 leaders and EU representatives released a joint statement opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a vital resource 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 the country 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" 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 her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."