Riga, 3 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - NATO is beefing up security for its summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11 and 12, with thousands of NATO and local troops due to ensure the safety of the defence alliance meeting.

Lithuania borders Russia and Russia's close ally, Belarus.

Up to 12,000 forces, including 3,000 Lithuanian troops and 1,000 from NATO allies will be responsible for security during the high level meetings, a Lithuanian security officer in charge of personal security and a military spokesman told a press conference in Vilnius on Monday.

The Lithuanian capital is expecting 48 foreign delegations with about 2,400 members, including 40 heads of state and up to 150 other high-ranking politicians who need to be protected, they said.

The Spanish military is moving an air defence system stationed in Latvia to neighbouring Lithuania to help protect the NATO summit, the Spanish embassy in Vilnius said on Monday.

"We can confirm that Spain is contributing to the security of Vilnius NATO Summit with a NASAMS air defence unit," the embassy told the BNS news agency.

NASAMS, or the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile system, was jointly developed by Norway and the United States. It is designed to counter attack from the air by drones, missiles or planes.

To protect the top-level meeting, Germany's armed forces are deploying Patriot air defence systems and soldiers to Lithuania. Germany will also contribute land-, air- and sea-based capabilities to secure the NATO summit, the Federal Ministry of Defence announced at the end of May.

Photo: EPA