Zelenskyy called the invitation "unprecedented and absurd," but his tone changed during the summit. He expressed frustrations at NATO's proposed timeline for Ukraine's membership — which, given the final copy of the summit's communiqué, isn't really a timeline at all. "It's unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership. "This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. Prior to Kyiv arriving, there were informal discussions on how best to respond, leading to US officials suggesting they revisit or remove any mention of Ukraine's invitation to membership at all.

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Persons: invitiation, Zelenskyy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, —, NATO's, isn't, George W, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Washington Post, White House, NATO, Service, Alliance, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Lithuania, NATO, Russia, Kyiv, Crimea, Ukraine's