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Ex-leader Trump indicated on Saturday that his Moscow-drafted proposal for peace constituted "not my final offer", following intense backlash from Ukrainian leaders and analysts who likened it to a Munich pact of 1938 between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

In brief comments from the White House, Trump informed journalists: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we’re trying to get it ended, in any case it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Negotiations Include Various Countries

Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Switzerland on Sunday for discussions on the plan. Defense representatives from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of the talks, US senators told the press that Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Switzerland to clarify the nature of this disclosed proposal. He said, this plan did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", as reported by Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Zelenskyy Faces Crucial Deadline

Nevertheless, the former president has set Volodymyr Zelenskyy a deadline of Thursday to sign this multi-point agreement. The document requires Kyiv to give up territory under its control to Moscow, downsize its military forces, and relinquish advanced weaponry. Additionally, it rules out international peacekeepers and penalties for atrocities committed by Russia.

During a solemn address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that his country confronts a difficult decision in the near future involving preserving the nation's honor and losing a major partner like the United States. He admitted that it faces an extremely challenging period historically.

Ukraine's Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Geneva Talks

Speaking on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that genuine or respectable peace was always based on "guaranteed security and justice". He revealed a negotiating team, established through a decree, which will meet its US counterparts in Switzerland, headed by his chief of staff Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, former defence minister and security council official Rustem Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Suggesting red lines, Umerov noted: 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 Reaction and Criticism

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House apparently intent to end the conflict based on Russian conditions. He has emphasized that he will not surrender the nation's independence or disregard the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

During a summit held in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives 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 regarding certain clauses, which rule out Ukraine's NATO accession and put conditions on its future EU accession.

Public Views in Ukraine's Capital

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, prepared by Putin’s envoy and a US delegate, have been largely negative. Analysts said it was a blueprint for another Russian invasion: targeting not just Ukraine but other European regions as well.

Nayyem, a journalist and politician who led Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy Maidan revolution, remarked it invited parallels with the Munich Agreement. The proposal belonged to the same "recognisable genre", where the affected party is asked to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said his anger by its "full" amnesty for Russian war crimes. 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.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, 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 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 it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, 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.

Diverse Perspectives from the Public

A different commuter, teenager Barchan, asserted that Ukraine would "keep strong" 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 Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, near a historical monument, Ivanovna said she was grateful to Trump for his attempts to broker peace. She said that the nation ought to consider ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. "President Zelenskyy should hold a referendum and ask the people," she said.

European Leaders Criticize the Proposal

Previous European leaders have strongly criticized this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Marin described it as a catastrophe, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She said if the west showed weakness and ignorance – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – "more aggression and conflicts" would follow.

Belgium's ex-PM, Verhofstadt, quoted 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 faces a choice between compromise and principles. A critical juncture for the European Union."