Amsterdam‘s Schiphol Airport rail system caught fire Tuesday, with authorities suggesting sabotage may have been at play ahead of the NATO summit.
Those attending the summit in The Hague were supposed to fly into the airport on Tuesday morning so they could attend later that day. The Hague is about 30 miles from the airport, about 40 minutes by train. However, nearly 30 track cables of the airport’s rail system caught fire and will not be fixed until Tuesday night.
More than 45 world leaders and delegations are expected to attend the summit, and the Netherlands has commissioned more than 27,000 police officers for the event. At a public forum on Tuesday, Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel, who formerly worked at NATO, said those in charge are looking into the possibility of sabotage.
“That could be sabotage, that’s one of the things that we’re looking into, and then the question is, well, who was behind it. That can be an activist group, it can be a state actor, it can be any kind,” van Weel said.
Pro-Russian hackers also claimed to have launched attacks on organizations connected to the summit.
Last year, NATO and European Union members accused Russia of targeting their countries in hybrid operations. Intelligence has also proven Russia’s continued efforts against NATO countries.
President Donald Trump is among those traveling to the summit on Tuesday. He has become frustrated with Russia’s lack of commitment to a ceasefire with Ukraine, which he said he told Russian President Vladimir Putin directly.
TRUMP HEADS OVERSEAS FOR NATION TALKS IN WAKE OF IRAN STRIKE AND CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS
“Vladimir called me up. He said, ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t need help with Iran. I need help with you,’ and I hope we’re going to be getting a deal done with Russia,” Trump said at a Q&A before leaving.
Member nations are set to announce plans to contribute a minimum of their gross domestic product to their defense spending, which some say is a way of keeping Trump content.
