Ukraine\u2019s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country on Saturday as they pushed to revise a U.S. peace plan\u00a0seen as favoring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbor. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians \u201cwill always defend\u201d their home.<\/p>\n
Watch President Donald Trump\u2019s remarks in the video player above.<\/p>\n
A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives from France, Germany and the U.K., is preparing for direct talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The\u00a028-point blueprint\u00a0drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals, with Zelenskyy saying his country\u00a0could face a stark choice\u00a0between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.<\/p>\n
WATCH: With new U.S. deal, Trump says that Zelenskyy is \u2018going to have to accept something\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his \u201cfinal offer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,\u201d Trump said. \u201cOne way or the other, we have to get it ended.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. plan\u00a0foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out, while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to NATO membership. It contains many of Moscow\u2019s long-standing demands, while offering limited security guarantees to Kyiv.<\/p>\n On Saturday, leaders of the European Union, Canada and Japan issued a joint statement welcoming U.S. peace efforts, but pushed back against key tenets of the plan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine\u2019s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,\u201d the statement said. It added that any decisions regarding NATO and the EU would require the consent of member states.<\/p>\n The leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. met during the day on the sidelines of a\u00a0Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa,\u00a0to discuss ways to support Kyiv, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters at the summit that \u201cwars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected,\u201d and insisted Kyiv needed robust guarantees.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. peace plan for Ukraine \u201crequires broader consultation\u201d because \u201cit stipulates many things involving Europeans,\u201d like Russia\u2019s frozen assets and Ukraine\u2019s accession to the European Union. Europe\u2019s security issues must also be taken into account, Macron said, adding: \u201cWe want a robust and lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Merz and Macron said that envoys from Germany, France, the U.K. and the EU will join Ukrainian negotiators as they meet a U.S. delegation in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington\u2019s proposal. Zelenskyy confirmed the meeting on Saturday, after Trump set a deadline for\u00a0Kyiv to respond to the plan by next Thursday.<\/p>\n European leaders have long warned against rushing a peace deal, seeing\u00a0their own future at stake\u00a0in Ukraine\u2019s fight to beat back Russia, and insist on being consulted in peace efforts.<\/p>\n \u2018Quite a way from a good outcome\u2019<\/p>\n Kyiv\u2019s key allies in Europe reiterated their reservations about the Kremlin\u2019s readiness to end the war.<\/p>\n \u201cTime and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but their actions never live up to their words,\u201d U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters ahead of the G20 summit, days after a Russian strike on western Ukraine\u00a0killed over two dozen civilians. Starmer later added that his national security adviser will be among Western envoys in Geneva.<\/p>\n