Two weeks ago, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed after Estonia requested Article 4 consultations in the alliance, following an incident in which three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace on September 19, Fox News reported.

Estonia's request closely followed Poland's invocation of the clause after more than a dozen Russian drones breached its airspace on September 10.

Fox News cited three European officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying Rutte argued that invoking Article 4 too often would dilute the alliance's strength. One source even claimed that Rutte raised his voice at Michal, insisting that NATO should be cautious about sounding the alarm too frequently.

Article 4 has only been used nine times in NATO's history.

A NATO spokesperson confirmed the phone call between Rutte and Michal to Fox News, adding that the secretary general supported Estonia throughout the process.

Estonian government spokesperson Rasmus Ruuda also told ERR that Michal and Rutte spoke after the Russian military aircraft incursion, during which the secretary general expressed support for Estonia and the prime minister thanked NATO for its response. "The secretary general's later public comments confirm this," Ruuda noted.

After the violation, Rutte said he had spoken with Michal, adding that NATO's response was "quick and decisive."

I've just spoken with the Estonian PM @KristenMichalPM about the Russian air space violation today. NATO's response under Eastern Sentry was quick and decisive.

— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) September 19, 2025

On September 23, after the consultations, he said alliance members "strongly condemned Russia's dangerous violation."

At a press conference on the same day, when asked if it was "politically wise" to invoke Article 4 twice in a short period, he said: "I think these two Article 4s are both warranted /.../ When it comes to Estonia last Friday, when you look at the location and the duration of the presence of these MiGs-31 in Estonian airspace, I think it is absolutely warranted that we had this Article 4 consultation."

The North Atlantic Council met this morning and strongly condemned Russia's dangerous violation of Estonian airspace on Friday.

Our posture – on land, at sea and in the air – is serving us well.

NATO stands ready & willing to defend every inch of Allied territory. pic.twitter.com/sapODb253v

— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) September 23, 2025

Estonia long considered whether to invoke Article 4

Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress reported on September 27, after off-the-record conversations with Estonian officials, that the latter thought long and hard about whether to go down the Article 4 path, including in terms of whether allies would consider it an overreaction.

Among the pros was that Estonia could not allow it to appear that Estonia's airspace was any less important than Poland's after the breaches on September 10.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Jonatan Vseviov said that Russia's unprecedented brazen airspace violation had crossed the Article 4 threshold, and the government was convened at short notice to make a decision.

There were no disputes among Estonian officials, but rather a serious debate about what the incident meant — especially in light of what had just happened in Poland. Pros and cons had to be weighed, Eesti Ekspress wrote.

One consideration was that Article 4 had only just been requested and discussed within NATO, and if Estonia were to call for it again within ten days, how might the allies perceive it?

Officials also weighed what questions allies might raise. For example, Russia has violated Estonian airspace before, so why didn't Estonia invoke Article 4 then? Or if Russian aircraft fly over the Vaindloo area next time, what will Estonia do? Inside Estonia, some needed convincing that this was the right step. Some feared Estonia was overreacting or risking embarrassment.

Estonia formally initiated the Article 4 procedure in NATO on September 19, after three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets illegally entered its airspace the same day over Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland, remaining there for around 12 minutes.

While airspace incursions by Russia are not uncommon, they have usually lasted less than minute. Estonia has never invoked Article 4 over the issue before.

Since 2014, Russian aircraft have violated Estonia's airspace more than 40 times. 

Allies and friends

By early afternoon, the Fox News article was the top story on several of Estonia's media outlets.

Michal has not commented on the article, but he posted a photograph (and later reposted with two photos but the same message) on the social media site X of an embrace between him, Rutte and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The prime minister said Estonia, the EU and NATO "stand strong together" and thanked Rutte and von der Leyen for their support, writing "it is the foundation of everything."

"We are allies and friends," he wrote.

The trio attended the European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen on Thursday.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov seemed to confirm the post was a statement on the situation by resharing Michal's post and commenting: "All is well."

Estonia, the EU and NATO stand strong together. We are allies and friends. Thank you @vonderleyen and @MarkRutte for your support – it is the foundation of everything. pic.twitter.com/DPmD8dB5Wx

— Kristen Michal (@KristenMichalPM) October 2, 2025

This article was updated to add comments from Kristen Michal and Jonatan Vseviov.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!