The indignation of the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky causes NATO’s reluctance for one clear road map accession of his country to NATO, while at the same time Kiev is outside the negotiations on its future at the Vilnius summit.

NATO leaders are set to declare in Vilnius that they are “ready for Ukraine to join the military alliance,” but in a carefully worded statement which drew immediate condemnation from Kiev for the absence of a strict timetable.

The draft summit conclusions discussed on Tuesday pledge to “send an invitation” to Ukraine to join the alliance when “the allies agree and the conditions are met”, people with knowledge of the text told the Financial Times.

However, the president Volodymyr Zelensky immediately put against the alliance of 31 members to negotiate the text without Ukraine on the table. “Ukraine deserves respect (…) Eit is unprecedented and absurd when no time frame is set for either the invitation or the accession of Ukraine. While at the same time vague wording is added about “conditions” even for inviting Ukraine (…) It seems that there is no readiness either to invite Ukraine to NATO or to become a member of the alliance (…) For Russia, this it means motivation to continue her terror“, he said characteristically.

The draft communiqué will state that “Kiev’s future is in NATO” without providing a timeline on Ukraine’s accession, people familiar with the text commented in the Financial Times, clarifying, however, that it can change until it is agreed by all members.

However, in a written statement, Zelensky said it is “unprecedented and absurd when it is not put [ένα] timetable, neither for the invitation nor for the integration of Ukraine”, while he also criticized NATO’s “vague conditions” for the invitation of Kiev.

The compromise plan is intended to show that Ukraine’s accession would be a potentially quick political decision that bypasses the formal NATO accession process, while addressing US and German concerns that the bar for inclusion is lowered of new members.

Finding a way to recognize Ukraine’s membership aspirations while defending itself against Russian aggression has reveal the difference of opinion within the alliance, with weeks of intense negotiations, and with the US and Germany reluctant to imply that Kiev’s accession is inevitable without conditions. NATO will carve “reform path» for Ukraine so that it can join the Atlantic Alliance, but without “timetable», the White House national security adviser clarified Jake Sullivan.

On the other hand, mainly members of the alliance in Eastern Europe, with the support of France and the United Kingdom, had requested that the word “invitation” be included in the statement and to recognize that it would be a political, and not a technical, decision to call Ukraine into NATO.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters on Tuesday: “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO”. “What’s important about this summit is that that commitment is reaffirmed, and that there is demonstrable progress toward that goal, and I think that’s what you’re going to see,” Sunak added.

However, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters that any move to speed up Ukraine’s NATO membership would be “potentially very dangerous for European security,” according to Interfax.

The draft conclusions text also states that the allies “recognize that Ukraine’s path towards full Euro-Atlantic integration” has progressed “beyond the need for the integration plan”, that is, in the official process of joining NATO. He also notes that Kyiv has “made substantial progress” in reforms.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, said at the start of the summit on Tuesday that he believed “the allies will send a clear, united and positive message on the path to Ukraine’s accession”, adding that he expected the statement “to be made public within hours”.