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Some 10,000 police officers will shield the NATO summit: violent protests are not expected and Zelenski remains unknown

Interior reinforces border controls and Defense will be in charge of determining airspace restrictions.

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Some 10,000 police officers will shield the NATO summit: violent protests are not expected and Zelenski remains unknown

Interior reinforces border controls and Defense will be in charge of determining airspace restrictions

MADRID, 17 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Some 10,000 agents of the Security Forces and Bodies, under the coordination of the National Police, will shield Madrid on the occasion of the NATO summit, an international event that will feature the largest police deployment in the history of Spain, bringing together more than 40 world leaders, with the unknown as to whether the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, will participate online or in person.

In the context of the war in Ukraine and the tensions between NATO and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, 'Operation Eirene' ("She who brings peace" in Greek mythology) will be led by the National Police, the body that provides the largest number of troops: 6,550 agents; To which must be added the 2,400 of the Civil Guard and municipal police, firefighters, private security and emergency services, according to sources from the Ministry of the Interior.

The official agenda of the summit held at IFEMA is set for June 29 and 30, but the first bilateral meetings in Moncloa of leaders with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, as well as a dinner are planned the day before offered by the Kings in the Royal Palace.

All efforts have been focused for months on guaranteeing that there is no failure, which includes having alternative routes for delegations and identified evacuation areas, especially in the IFEMA site, which will be completely shielded. The police commanders take into account that there are issues that involve some added complexity, such as Zelenski's physical presence in Madrid -it would be his first departure from Ukraine after the war began-, although it is presumable that this will not be cleared up until the last moment.

One of the main challenges will be to guarantee cybersecurity, especially in the face of possible external threats from countries such as Russia in a context of tension with the West and, specifically, with NATO. Apart from cyber monitoring, the National Police will deploy its drone system and the Ministry of Defense is in charge of determining what type of restrictions there will be in the airspace within a device in which, in terms of patrolling and security citizen, will not have the presence of military in the streets.

Interior, which in its last weekly meeting decided to maintain the level 4 out of 5 of Anti-Terrorist Alert, is receiving daily reports from both the CNI and the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Crime Organization (CITCO). No scenario is ruled out in relation to security problems during the event -- it is never done --, although no specific threat has been detected to date.

"We are worried and busy, but today we do not observe any special issue that would have to increase the occupation", they have indicated from the department headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska when asked, twelve days before the summit, if they have been detected specific plans to attack in Spain, a greater number of cyberattacks or there is an alert due to the presence of anti-systems with the capacity to cause serious altercations.

In this regard, border controls have been strengthened to detect the possible arrival of people with a radical profile, which has led to specific restrictions on the Schengen treaty. The device, however, is gaining in intensity as the inauguration approaches: the preventive and alert phases will be passed on the 27th, Monday, to the activation of the "critical phase".

To this end, the police officers ensure that the "balance" is maintained between the security of the 5,000 participants in the summit and the "continuity of the daily life of the people of Madrid", as well as the right to demonstrate for all those who want to express his rejection of NATO, although the forecast -in the absence of operational details- is that the protests cannot be carried out in the area surrounding IFEMA for security reasons.

The Government plans to increase the messages these days so that citizens avoid using their private vehicles during the summit --for the benefit of public transport-- and promote teleworking as much as possible, since the transfer of convoys of cars from the leaders from their hotels to IFEMA or the Palacio de Moncloa, where bilateral meetings are planned, will be constant from June 28.

In favor of ensuring that the restrictions on the movements of the people of Madrid have the least possible impact, the "excellent institutional collaboration" with both the Community of Madrid and the City Council of the capital plays, according to what Interior has highlighted. "Madrid and Spain have a lot at stake in their international projection," they underline.

An IFEMA pavilion will host the Coordination Center (CECOR) of the device led by the National Police --with the Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) as the head of the entire operation--, and which will have commands from the Civil Guard, Police Municipal, CNI, CITCO or Casa Real, as well as representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, the Government Delegation, Civil Protection and IFEMA's private security.

Interior has also planned a CECOR 'mirror' room outside IFEMA although, for security reasons, its location is kept secret. To the 10,000 police officers must be added the security of each of the delegations, the largest of all being the one headed by US President Joe Biden. Just conditioning IFEMA has a budget of 35 million, although the Government hopes not to spend it completely.

The Security of the Royal House will also play a decisive role, especially in relation to the program for companions of presidents and prime ministers, by having Queen Letizia as host within an agenda, in parallel to the official one, which includes visits to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia and dinners at the Royal Palace or at the Prado Museum. The objective, they have specified from the Government, is to project the image of Spain as a supportive, sustainable and egalitarian country.