PHOTO: Republicans said Zelensky is feeling lonely, rejected and snubbed after he was seen standing alone at NATO Summit in Vilnius

Republicans said Zelensky is feeling lonely, rejected and snubbed after he was seen standing alone at NATO Summit in Vilnius.

He issued his complaints on Twitter after saying Ukraine would be ‘represented’ at the summit – amid indications that he would meet with President Joe Biden here, saying the presence would be about ‘respect.’

‘But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine. And I would like to emphasize that this wording is about the invitation to become NATO member, not about Ukraine’s membership,’ he inveighed.

‘It’s unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership. While at the same time vague wording about “conditions” is added even for inviting Ukraine,’ Zelensky said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blew up the early professions of unity at the NATO summit Tuesday when he blasted allies for failing to set a firm timeline for his country to join the alliance.

The rattling from outside the tent came hours after NATO announced a breakthrough that would allow it to admit Sweden as its 32nd member, the second new arrival since Russia began its invasion of its neighbor last year. 

The Membership Action Plan is a program of economic, defense and security reforms that other recently admitted countries had to go through before joining NATO. The process can be a burdensome and lengthy and its removal could significantly streamline Ukraine’s membership bid once it is formally invited to apply.

Amid the speculation about Ukraine’s potential membership, Stoltenberg also stressed that “the most urgent task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails, because unless Ukraine prevails, there’s no membership issue to be discussed at all.”

‘This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine’s membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia,’ he said. ‘And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror.’

He said in a Monday night address Ukraine expects an ‘algorithm’ for joining, amid signals that key allies were working on a statement providing security guarantees.

‘We are still working on the wording, that is, on the specific words of such confirmation, but we already understand the fact that Ukraine will be in the alliance,’ he said Monday before his Twitter explosion. ‘And we are working to make the algorithm for gaining membership as clear and fast as possible,’ he said. 

“Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” the leaders of the alliance declared in the summit’s final communique. “We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met.”

Ukraine did win one major concession at the summit, as NATO agreed to streamline the accession process by removing a key hurdle for Ukraine. “[We] agreed to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan. This will change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step process to a one-step process,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltengberg told reporters on Tuesday.

“We do not and will never recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexations, including Crimea,” the statement said.

“There can be no impunity for Russian war crimes and other atrocities, such as attacks against civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure that deprives millions of Ukrainians of basic human services,” the declaration went on to say.

For months, Kyiv has been pushing for full membership of NATO, but many member states harbor serious doubts about admitting Ukraine to its ranks as Russia’s full-scale invasion rages on.

US President Joe Biden told CNN Sunday that Ukraine was not yet ready to join the alliance, saying that Russia’s war in Ukraine needs to end before the alliance can consider granting Kyiv’s pleas for membership.