Alpine Region in January 2026: the most important developments in politics
The Alpine region in January 2026 was dominated by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and President Donald Trump's appearance there. Trump and European leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's chancellor, attended, and on 21 January Trump told the forum that the United States wants to buy Greenland and seeks immediate negotiations, a proposal Denmark has long rejected. On 22 January he formally launched a new initiative called the Board of Peace; reports noted that many top US allies are not taking part. Pakistan joined and its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif faced domestic criticism over the decision. On 23 January, when the forum concluded, Trump revoked Canada's invitation to the board after a speech by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Davos. Greece said it was assessing its foreign policy strategy beyond traditional transatlantic alliances.
The forum also hosted diplomacy on the war in Ukraine. Talks between Ukrainian and US negotiators were held in Davos, and a Putin envoy was reported to be scheduled to meet US officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested a possible trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. His sharp criticism of Europe in a Davos speech drew rebukes from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and an attack from Iran. By 24 January, reports said Russia was maintaining a hard line on talks.
Iran featured as well. The World Economic Forum barred Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi from attending, reportedly after deadly protests in Iran and international pressure, and a senior Iranian diplomat at the UN in Geneva defected and sought asylum in Switzerland.
Other matters concerned Switzerland and its neighbours. Switzerland's government proposed raising value-added tax to fund an overhaul of its armed forces, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would skip a peace council event in Switzerland after the Swiss decision to join the International Criminal Court. Italy said it would file to be a plaintiff in the Swiss bar-fire disaster trial, and Italian ministers expressed outrage at the release of a Swiss murder suspect. Croatia's central bank governor Boris Vujcic was nominated as the next vice president of the European Central Bank.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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