Statements by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi before his arrival at the NATO summit in Vilnius caused the indignation of the American delegation present in the capital of Lithuania, writes The Washington Post with reference to diplomatic sources.

In a message posted on his Twitter page Tuesday afternoon as he was en route to Vilnius, the Ukrainian president called “absurd” and “unprecedented” what he called backroom discussions about inviting Ukraine to NATO.

“We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate a frank conversation. Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it’s about respect. But Ukraine also deserves respect,” wrote the leader from Kyiv.

“Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain formulations are being discussed without Ukraine. And I would like to emphasize that this wording refers to the invitation to become a member of NATO, and not to the accession of Ukraine. This is an unprecedented and absurd thing in the conditions when no calendar has been established either for the invitation (of Ukraine to NATO) or for the accession of Ukraine,” he added.

Zelensky also said that NATO leaders appeared to be taking Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO seriously, and complained that their approach seemed to indicate that they wanted to keep the issue as a bargaining chip in the event of peace talks with Moscow.

Several diplomats from NATO member states told The Washington Post that they also suspected Zelensky was trying to use the tweet as a negotiating tactic.

Why Zelensky angered US officials

But one diplomatic source says that Zelenskyi’s words were not well received in the American camp, given that President Joe Biden hoped that on the first day of the summit he would be able to present a united front against Russia, especially since Turkey dropped its objections. to him on Monday, Sweden’s accession to the alliance.

However, the reason why the comments of the Ukrainian president caused the indignation of the delegation of the American colleague is related to domestic politics in the United States.

Joe Biden has already entered the 2024 presidential election campaign, and his ability to rally NATO allies and other US partners around a common flag is one of the main themes of his campaign from a foreign policy perspective, House Leader White wants to present a stark contrast in that respect with his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, known for his isolationist positions.

Although Zelensky did not name Biden in the tweet, he previously called the US president the main decision-maker in NATO and directly called on the White House to invite Ukraine to the alliance.

However, the US president was more tentative than other NATO leaders, particularly on the alliance’s eastern flank, on the topic, saying that in addition to ending the conflict with Russia, Kyiv must implement a series of domestic reforms to get the right.

Jens Stoltenberg spoke as a peacemaker at the NATO summit in Vilnius

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, tried to calm the situation in Vilnius, saying that “there has never been a stronger message from NATO, both in terms of political messages related to the path to membership and concrete support for NATO allies.” . “.

Zelensky himself took a more conciliatory tone after arriving in Vilnius, telling a crowd of thousands that he still “trusts” the alliance and that NATO can become stronger if it accepts Ukraine as a member state.

“I would like that confidence to become security – security in the solutions that we deserve, that we all deserve, and that every warrior, every citizen, every mother, every child is waiting for. [ucrainean]”, he also said in a post published later on Twitter.

But his previous words, in which he sharply criticized the alliance, are in stark contrast to the image of unity and harmony that President Joe Biden and his allies have tried to create, suggesting that the leader of the White House helped break the impasse over Sweden’s entry into NATO.

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