Tensions are high as the NATO summit kicks off in Warsaw amid strained ties with Russia, Britain’s "Brexit" vote to leave the European Union, attacks by Islamic State (IS) extremists, and Europe's unprecedented refugee crisis. In a commentary published on the Financial Times website on July 8, U.S. President Barack Obama said the summit "may be the most important moment for our transatlantic alliance since the end of the cold war."
Meanwhile in Russia, the pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets issued a thinly veiled threat.