US president Barack Obama has paid a lightning visit to Amsterdam ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.

The president arrived in the Dutch capital by helicopter at 09.30 and was given a tour of the Rijksmuseum, accompanied by prime minister Mark Rutte and the city’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan.

The president was also shown the Act of Abjuration or Plakkaat van Verlatinghe, signed on 26 July 1581, which, according to the Parool, may have influenced the American Declaration of Independence of 1776.

The Act is kept in the national archives in The Hague but was brought to Amsterdam for the president’s visit, the paper says.

The president and prime minister spoke to reporters in front of Rembrandt’s Night Watch masterpiece. It was the most impressive backdrop to a press conference he had had, Obama said.

The president went on to outline some of the issues he had discussed with Rutte, in particular the situation in Ukraine. ‘Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,’ he said. Talks will continue with other G7 members later on Monday, he said.