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Former President Trump indicated this past weekend that the Russian-prepared peace plan constituted not his ultimate proposal, following strong criticism from Ukraine's officials and analysts who compared it to a Munich pact of 1938 involving Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

During brief remarks from the White House, the US president told journalists: "We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Talks Involve Various Nations

US and Ukrainian delegates will meet in Switzerland this Sunday for discussions on this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in these negotiations there.

Prior to these discussions, US senators told media outlets that Secretary of State Rubio reached out to them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, the proposal "was not the administration’s plan" but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Confronts Critical Time Limit

However, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Ukraine to give up territory under its control to Russia, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for atrocities committed by Russia.

In a sombre address last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision over the coming days between keeping its national dignity and forfeiting a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

Ukrainian Dialogue Team Appointed for Upcoming Talks

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy emphasized that real or respectable peace depends on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A additional delegate from Ukraine's team, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated they will hold discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Suggesting red lines, Umerov 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 Concerns

The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with the US administration seemingly determined to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has made clear he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.

At a meeting held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on Trump’s plan, stating it requires further refinement. The statement indicated that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted on some of its provisions, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Views in Kyiv

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Analysts said it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led the 2014 Maidan protests, remarked it invited parallels with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. Trumps’s peace plan came from the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

On social media, he expressed he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. It was an insult those who sought shelter in Bucha or Mariupol – where Russian troops executed hundreds of civilians – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. A deeply cynical deal, he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained troops in Ukraine. "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 said. If rejected, the US might cease collaboration and intelligence exchange, a vital resource of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he noted.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, teenager Sofia Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would remain resilient 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 said that the president is intelligent and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna said her appreciation to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation should be ready to give away Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it ensured keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Officials Condemn the Plan

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin called it 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 – further hostilities would follow.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Verhofstadt, quoted a statement by Churchill of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". 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."