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Ex-leader Trump remarked on Saturday that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace constituted not his ultimate proposal, after fierce backlash from Ukraine's leaders and commentators who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks at the White House, Trump informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Involve Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Prior to the talks, US senators informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but rather reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory it currently controls to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. It also rules out a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Ukraine faces an impossible choice in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Team Formed for Geneva Talks

Speaking this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or respectable peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Geneva, headed by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting limits, he added: 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 Response and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has made clear he cannot give up Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". It said that members of the EU and NATO would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, drawn up by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts argued it outlined a plan for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

In a Facebook post, he said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded very little in the Trump agreement and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Varied Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Barchan, asserted that the country would remain resilient lacking US backing. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned she was grateful to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She suggested that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region temporarily if it meant maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill 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."