UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky today blasted as “absurd” the absence of a timetable for the admission of his country into Nato.

The broadside injected harsh criticism into a gathering of the military alliance’s leaders that was intended to showcase solidarity.

The comments by Mr Zelensky are likely to renew tensions at the summit shortly after Turkey agreed to advance Sweden’s bid to join Nato. 

Officials have drafted a proposal, which has not been publicly released, on Ukraine’s potential membership. 

United States President Joe Biden expressed support during a meeting with Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, but Mr Zelensky wrote on Twitter that he was not satisfied.

“We value our allies” but “Ukraine also deserves respect,” he said.

“It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership,” Mr Zelensky said. 

He finished with: “Uncertainty is weakness. And I will openly discuss this at the summit.”

There have been sharp divisions within the alliance over Ukraine’s desire to join Nato, which was promised back in 2008.

Mr Stoltenberg wrote in Foreign Affairs on Monday that the alliance would “upgrade our political ties” by forming a Nato-Ukraine Council, which would be “a platform for decisions and crisis consultation.”

The additional promise by Mr Stotlenberg today that Nato would remove another hurdle by forgoing the requirement for a “membership action plan” for Ukraine also did not appear to satisfy Mr Zelensky’s complaint.

But, the US and Germany were urging caution over agreement to Ukraine’s membership, with President Biden saying last week that Ukraine wasn’t yet ready to join. 

The US President told CNN at the weekend that members of Nato need to “meet all the qualifications, from democratisation to a whole range of other issues,” a nod towards longstanding concerns about governance and corruption in Kiev.

The row comes after Turkey withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the military alliance.

The decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reached after days of intensive meetings.

Sweden’s Nato membership has been blocked by objections from Turkey since last year.

Recently Turkey has tied their approval of Swedish accession to a demand for progress over their application for membership of the European Union.  

Pointing towards a possible different approach the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 said: “A bigger Nato and cluster bombs won’t keep us safe.

“It’s time for Europe to help lead a new non-aligned movement that seeks a route to lasting peace, and unites humanity against climate catastrophe.”