Alpine Region in February 2026: the most important developments in politics
In the Alpine region in February 2026, Geneva became the venue for the month's main diplomacy. The United States held indirect nuclear talks with Iran, with Oman mediating, and separate talks on the war in Ukraine with Russian and Ukrainian delegations. The Iran talks began on February 17. Iran's foreign minister said his country had "real ideas" for a fair deal, while a spokesman said Washington must first prove it wants an agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he opposed any agreement and demanded that Iran remove its uranium. A senior US official said Iranian negotiators agreed to present a detailed proposal within two weeks. A further round ended on February 27 and was described as the most serious so far. Iran reported progress, the US side said talks continued without a final agreement, and the International Atomic Energy Agency monitored the round.
The trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States ended on February 18 without a breakthrough. Russian officials called them difficult but businesslike, and Ukraine reported some progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the next round would move to another Swiss location, and some reports said EU delegations had been excluded. Russia said it was preparing a new round. Switzerland, which chairs the OSCE, saw little hope of a peace deal, and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis travelled to talks in Moscow.
Inside Switzerland, a US Senate committee examined about 890 accounts at Credit Suisse linked to the Nazi regime, and senators criticized UBS over the probe. Swiss voters will decide in June on a proposal to cap the population at 10 million by 2050, and on March 8 on a cut to the public media licence fee. EU member states gave final approval to a package of agreements with Switzerland.
In Austria and Germany, the FPÖ pressed for a referendum on neutrality and conscription and faced allegations of nepotism. A court banned Martin Sellner from appearing at an AfD event in Ettlingen, and the AfD leadership sought to block meetings with him. The World Economic Forum opened an independent review of its president, Børge Brende, over past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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