Ex-leader Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted peace plan was not his ultimate proposal, after intense reaction from Ukrainian officials and analysts that compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.
During short comments from the White House, Trump told journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."
US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva this Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from Germany, France, and the UK are expected to join these negotiations there.
Ahead of the talks, American lawmakers informed media outlets that State Department head Rubio contacted them during his travel to Switzerland to clarify the nature of the leaked plan. According to him, this plan "was not the administration’s plan" but rather a "wish list of the Russians", according to independent Maine senator King, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Nevertheless, Trump has set Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday for signing this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up land under its control to Moscow, reduce the size of its army, and surrender advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.
In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine faces a difficult decision over the coming days involving keeping the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history.
Speaking this weekend, the president emphasized that genuine or respectable resolution depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a delegation, established through a decree, which will meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by top aide Andriy Yermak.
Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and national security council secretary Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with Washington "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".
Suggesting red lines, Umerov noted: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. 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."
The Ukrainian president has attempted to engage constructively with a White House seemingly determined to resolve the war based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that enshrines the country’s current borders.
During a summit in South Africa, G20 leaders and the European Council issued a collective declaration opposing the proposed deal, stating it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, which rule out Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.
Ukrainian reaction to the text, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it outlined a plan for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but of other parts of Europe too.
Nayyem, a public figure involved in the 2014 Maidan protests, said it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to 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 he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.
In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, a young adult, said that Moscow had been trying to dominate Ukraine over many years. It conceded very little in the proposed deal and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. "I think the deal is an attempt to break Ukraine and force unjust conditions on us," 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 crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.
A different commuter, 19-year-old Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Crimea and the eastern regions are part of Ukraine. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed that the president is intelligent and predicted he would not cede territory.
Speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said she was grateful to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She said that Ukraine ought to consider to give away certain regions for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she proposed.
Former European heads of state have roundly condemned the plan. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities 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 aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."
A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in gaming strategies and industry trends.
