Former President Donald Trump remarked on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan constituted "not my final offer", following intense criticism from Ukraine's leaders and analysts who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.
In brief comments at the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case we have to get it ended."
US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.
Ahead of the talks, US senators informed the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to them while en route to Geneva for clarification on the details of the leaked plan. According to him, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Nevertheless, Trump has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to give up land it currently controls to Russia, reduce the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for Russian war crimes.
During a solemn address last Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving its national dignity and forfeiting key ally like the United States. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing an extremely challenging period in its history.
In comments on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that genuine or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.
Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, said there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".
Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."
The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House apparently intent to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard a constitution that protects Ukraine's territorial integrity.
During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and the European Council issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.
Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.
Mustafa Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan belonged to the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.
On social media, Nayyem said his anger by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russia. A deeply cynical deal, he stated.
In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to dominate Ukraine "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the proposed deal and continued to keep troops in Ukraine. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.
Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. 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 remarked.
Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that the country would "keep strong" without American support. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She said that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.
Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to Trump for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine should be ready ceding certain regions for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.
Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.
Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."
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