Analysis | Nato papers over cracks after Ukraine’s Zelensky loses his cool
- Ukrainian team was angered by a lack of clarity on timeline for joining Nato at summit in Vilnius
- Leaders spent Wednesday cleaning up after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s outburst riled partners
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Ukraine’s leader says Nato summit end a ‘big positive’ despite no timeline for Kyiv membership
Volodymyr Zelensky was running hot ahead of his sit-down with Nato leaders on Tuesday evening.
That outburst in turn riled the partners who have funnelled billions of dollars of weaponry and aid into Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion – the US had been given no warning before Zelensky unleashed his attack on social media.
Over dinner in Vilnius, with US President Joe Biden back at his hotel, the other leaders delivered a clear message to Zelensky, according to one person who was present.
You have to cool down and look at the full package, Zelensky was told. He had, after all, been given a renewed commitment to eventual membership and new security guarantees from the Group of Seven (G7) nations. By the next day, the message appeared to be sinking in.
“Whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude,” UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told reporters the following morning. “You’re persuading countries to give up their stock” of weapons and ammunition, he added.