A number of roads in central The Hague have now been closed off in connection with the Nuclear Security Summit which takes place on Monday and Tuesday.

More road closures in The Hague will take place on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday motorways between Schiphol and The Hague will also be closed as part of the security preparations.

The A5 will be shut between the junction with the A9 and A4. There will be fewer lanes open on the A4 in the direction of The Hague and the A44 and N44 will also be closed, direction The Hague.

Disruption

The ANWB motoring organisation is warning of severe disruption to rush hour traffic on Monday and Tuesday and people are being urged to work at home if possible. Extra trains are also being laid on to ensure travellers can reach Schiphol airport.

In total, 58 world leaders are due to arrive at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Sunday and Monday. They include US president Barack Obama, German chancellor Angela Merkel and UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon.

Obama

The disruption will also be apparent in Amsterdam. Obama is due to spend several hours in the city on Monday, including a mini 15-minute visit to the Rijksmuseum.

On Thursday afternoon, eight US military helicopters were spotted circling over the city checking out security issues and potential escape routes, the Parool reports.

Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan tempered the expectations of people hoping to catch a glimpse of the president. ‘There will be a lot of security and very few people will actually see him– you would be better off watching television,’ he told the NRC earlier this week.

Terrorism

The aim of the NSS meeting is to discuss measures to combat potential nuclear terrorism and the security operation is the biggest ever mounted in the Netherlands.

However, the situation in Crimea will also take centre stage and the Group of Seven – US, Canada, Britain, France, German, Japan and Italy – will also discuss the annexation. Russia has not been invited for those talks.

The Netherlands will also take advantage of the gathering to hold several bilateral meetings with other government leaders, including Chinese president Xi Jinping, the state information service said.