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Former President Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared peace plan was "not my final offer", after intense reaction from Ukrainian officials and analysts that likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In short comments at the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other we have to get it ended."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American delegates will meet in Switzerland this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland for clarification on the nature of this disclosed proposal. According to him, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Time Limit

Nevertheless, the former president has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to cede land it currently controls to Russia, reduce its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for Russian war crimes.

During a solemn speech last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country faces an impossible choice in the near future between preserving the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

In comments on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or respectable resolution was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold consultations with Washington regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

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 Response and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has sought to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has made clear that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a collective declaration pushing back on the proposed deal, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Opinion in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, said that Russia has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". It conceded very little in the proposed deal 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.

If Zelenskyy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to sacrifice its liberties, he added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for frontline Ukrainian troops. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Barchan, asserted 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. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not cede territory.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said 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.

European Leaders Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin described it as a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for democracies worldwide. She warned if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."