Stubb rejects fears of Russian NATO attack as Tusk warns of threat within months

“We are working on different scenarios, but I come back to the need to stay calm, cool and collected. I see no incentive for Russia to test NATO Article 5 in practice,” The Guardian quoted Stubb as saying.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Tusk questioned whether the United States would be ready to defend Europe if Russia attacked a NATO country. The Polish prime minister said “the biggest and most important question for Europe is whether the United States is ready to be as loyal as described in our [NATO] treaties.” Tusk warned that Russia could attack an alliance member “within months.”

The Finnish president said Russia will keep testing NATO through hybrid methods.

“But if you look at the eastern flank, starting from the northeast, northeastern Scandinavia, Norway, Finland, the Baltic states, Poland and then all the way down to Ukraine, I don’t think that’s going to be tested,” Stubb said.

European countries should “learn from the Finnish mindset: don’t fixate too much on what might happen; prepare for the worst to avoid it,” he said.

Politico reported on April 17 that the EU plans to simulate its response to an attack on one of its member states. As part of the first such exercise, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will oversee so-called “tabletop” drills next month to determine how Article 42.7 on mutual assistance would work in practice.