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Former President Donald Trump indicated this past weekend that his Russian-prepared proposal for peace was not his ultimate proposal, following strong reaction from Ukraine's leaders and analysts that compared it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

During short comments from the White House, the US president informed reporters: "We’d like to get to peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, in any case we have to get it ended."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Multiple Nations

US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany are expected to join these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva to clarify the details of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" 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 Deadline

However, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday for signing the 28-point document. It calls on Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize its military forces, and surrender long-range weapons. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech on Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice in the near future between keeping the nation's honor and forfeiting key ally like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Formed for Geneva Talks

In comments this weekend, the president said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He revealed a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting limits, Umerov added: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Reaction and Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to participate positively with the US administration seemingly determined to resolve the war on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized 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 the European Council issued a joint statement opposing the proposed deal, saying it needs further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by a Russian representative and a US delegate, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe as well.

Nayyem, a public figure who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, where the affected party is asked "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 Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

In an interview in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially over many years. The agreement offered very little in the Trump agreement and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. 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 added. If it didn’t, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would "keep strong" without American support. We will continue our struggle as needed. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his peace-making efforts. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.

European Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have strongly criticized this proposal. Ex-PM of Finland Marin called it a disaster, not only for Ukraine and Ukrainians but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – "more aggression and conflicts" could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced Churchill’s definition regarding appeasement as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe must choose again: appeasement or our values, imperialism or freedom. A critical juncture for the European Union."