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Former President Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was "not my final offer", after intense backlash from Ukraine's officials and commentators that compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief remarks at the White House, Trump 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."

Upcoming Geneva Negotiations Involve Multiple Countries

Ukrainian and American officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks there.

Prior to the talks, American lawmakers told the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, according to independent Maine senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Confronts Critical Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. The document requires Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Appointed for Geneva Meetings

In comments this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Geneva, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at limits, Umerov 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 Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear 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, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives released a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal 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, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of battlefield information for frontline Ukrainian troops. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country 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. They are Ukrainian land." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

While speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said 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 proposed.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He added: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."