On Tuesday, the NATO summit adopted a communique saying that "Ukraine's future is in NATO," but not extending an official invitation. Zelensky slammed the document, saying that it was "unprecedented and absurd" that NATO set no time frame neither for granting Ukraine membership nor for formally inviting it.
US officials at the summit were close to removing the reference to an "invitation" or making the document's general language less welcoming to a fast-track accession for Ukraine as a result, two direct participants in the talks were cited as saying in the report out Thursday.
The US and its allies ultimately decided to keep the text of the communique unchanged, the newspaper said.
The incident showed increasing frustration among NATO members with Zelensky's tactics to pressure the bloc and receive more support, with even some of his backers questioning whether he served Ukraine's interests with his actions, media also said.
Earlier in the week, another news outlet reported, citing a NATO-country official, that Zelensky threatened not to appear at the first meeting of the newly established NATO-Ukraine Council due to his disappointment with the alliance's stance on Ukraine's membership prospects.