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Former President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following strong reaction from Ukrainian officials and analysts who likened it to a 1938 Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler.

In brief comments at the White House, Trump informed journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Forthcoming Geneva Negotiations Include Various Countries

US and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks there.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that Secretary of State Rubio contacted them during his travel to Geneva for clarification on the details of this disclosed proposal. According to him, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead reflected Russian desires, according to Senator Angus King, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

However, the former president has given Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. It calls on Ukraine to give up land it currently controls to Russia, downsize its military forces, and relinquish long-range weapons. Additionally, it excludes a European peacekeeping force and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn speech last Friday, the Ukrainian leader cautioned that Ukraine confronts an impossible choice over the coming days involving keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. Zelenskyy acknowledged that it faces an extremely challenging period in its history.

Ukraine's Dialogue Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Meetings

In comments this weekend, Zelenskyy said that real or "dignified" resolution was always based on assured safety and fairness. He announced a negotiating team, appointed by presidential decree, that would soon meet its US counterparts in Geneva, headed by top aide Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and security council official Rustem Umerov, stated there would be discussions with the US regarding potential terms for a peace deal.

Hinting at red lines, he noted: Ukraine enters these talks with defined goals. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Response and Concerns

Zelenskyy 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 Ukraine’s sovereignty or disregard the constitutional framework that enshrines Ukraine's territorial integrity.

During a summit in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a collective declaration opposing Trump’s plan, stating it needs "additional work". The statement indicated that EU and Nato members must be involved regarding certain clauses, that exclude Ukraine's NATO accession and impose terms on its future EU accession.

Citizen Views in Ukraine's Capital

Responses from Ukrainians to the text, prepared by Putin’s envoy and Trump’s representative, has been overwhelmingly hostile. Commentators argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Mustafa Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, said it drew comparisons with the Munich Agreement. Trumps’s peace plan came from a similar category, with the victim invited "to formulate his own defeat so everyone else can live easier".

In a Facebook post, he expressed he was outraged by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. It was an insult people who had hidden in basements in Bucha or Mariupol – sites of civilian executions – and for those whose children had been forcibly deported to Russian territory. "A rather cynical agreement," he stated.

In an interview in a Kyiv subway station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Moscow has attempted to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". It conceded "barely anything" in the Trump agreement and maintained its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he said.

Should Ukraine accept the terms Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he added. If rejected, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of battlefield information for Ukraine's forces. Currently, there is no favorable solution, he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from Ukrainian Citizens

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that the country 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. They are Ukrainian land." She said Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not cede territory.

While speaking in the rain, near a historical monument, Olena Ivanovna mentioned her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that Ukraine ought to consider ceding certain regions for a limited time if it ensured maintaining US support. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she proposed.

EU Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Former European heads of state have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – similar to the 2014 Crimea annexation – further hostilities could arise.

Belgium's ex-PM, Guy Verhofstadt, quoted Churchill’s definition of an appeaser as "one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last". He continued: Trump aligns with Putin. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."