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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that the Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following strong backlash from Ukrainian leaders and commentators who likened it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short comments from the White House, Trump informed reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Geneva Talks Involve Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but rather a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Moscow, reduce its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between preserving its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Negotiating Team Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments on Saturday, the president said that genuine or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by top aide Yermak.

Another member from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be consultations with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. 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 Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard a constitution that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, saying it needs "additional work". It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult those who sought shelter in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal 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 Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that the country would remain resilient without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted 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 Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready to give away certain regions for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized the plan. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for democracies worldwide. She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement 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."