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German troops depart Greenland, Italian police seize a Russian shadow fleet ship and Germany blocks a different shadow fleet ship

German troops depart Greenland, Italian police seize a Russian shadow fleet ship and Germany blocks a different shadow fleet ship

Happy Friday, the World Economic Forum is nearly over, NATO still exists and Greenland remains in Danish hands. Europe had itself a treat, of sorts, in the sense that comedy writers are unemployable after much of this week's headlines.

When the week began, there were serious worries about a transatlantic rupture after US President Donald Trump threatened to take Greenland with use of military force from Denmark because Norway had not granted him a Nobel Peace Prize. During his Davos speech, he confused Greenland with Iceland no less than four times. But from an Alpine perspective, the highlight was perhaps when he informed the Swiss, a country that maintained fairly strict neutrality during the Second World War if you exclude the opportunism of the citizenry, that they would be speaking German if not for the US, even though German is the language of the majority of the Swiss people. Maybe he meant Hochdeutsche?

So with the warmed up word salad on offer from the Americans, attention naturally turned to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech, with many offering excited praise for his full sentences, serious statements, reality-based takes and critically his statement that nostalgia is not strategy and understanding that American power is slipping and giving way to great power competition. The revival of the term "middle powers" might also be very exciting for a fair number of small to mid-sized European countries.

Most importantly, one very big country to the east, Ukraine, and the even bigger country to its east, Russia, escaped much official notice, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did drop in to charm and remind the Europeans they actually have an obligation to the continent's defense and not just in Greenland. The head hurts.

More dangerously, the flirtation Carney offers with regard to China is entirely problematic if not wildly dangerous. Yes, China has an enormous market and many rare earth minerals. However, let us not forget as we scold Iran over its repression of recent street protests what happened in June of 1989 on Tiananmen Square and let us recall that this is not a nation whose leadership shares a vision for a free world, free from fear, state control, censorship, with respect for human dignity, rule of law, free speech, intellectual ambition, transparency, civil rights—all the things we in the West are said to care about. Or is this nostalgia?

Surprisingly, it was Sergio Ermotti, the CEO of UBS, who spoke up for America and said there is no one and nothing that can replace the US, do not count the US out. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon added his support for a stronger NATO, according to Handelsblatt. Carney, a former central banker, might be injured by the present and the mistreatment of Canadians by US Customs and Border Patrol and rightfully so, but more than our ideals, let's not forget America is an idea. 

So as last week, I dusted off the wartime work of one of Poland's great poets to meet the moment and remind us all what is at stake. This week, I would like to do similarly and turn to Zbigniew Herbert's "Report from the Besieged City":

even if the City falls and one of us survives
he will carry the City inside him on the roads of exile
he will be the City

Welcome to the new Alpine Security Monitor! You can subscribe (and become a paid subscriber!) for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited). If this was forwarded to you, welcome! Fanmail and hatemail can be addressed to amanda.rivkin@securitydialogue.org, with the former rather obviously more welcome than the latter.

Finally, this week the Bern Security Dialogue announced its launch with its first event, an afternoon of conversations and reflections on Alpine and European security at Georgetown University on February 19. Please visit their event website for more information and to register to attend in Washington, DC.

NUUK, GREENLAND – German troops leave Greenland at end of brief exercise

  • The New York Post reports Monday German troops departed Greenland Sunday "after arriving for a highly publicized NATO military exercise requested by Denmark".
  • German troops had deployed as part of the Operation Arctic Endurance exercise which had been "framed by Copenhagen as a sign of resolve" following threats from US President Donald Trump to seize Greenland by force if he could not buy it outright. On Saturday, "Denmark sought to downplay any escalation" and "Greenlanders gathered for an anti-American protest".
  • Early Monday, Trump bizarrely stated in a message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere that the move was in retaliation for Norway not granting him the Nobel Peace Prize, Reuters reports.

 

BRINDISI, ITALY – Italian police seize ship arriving from Russia over EU sanctions busting

  • The Kyiv Independent reports Sunday Italian police seized a ship "arriving from Russian territorial waters of the Black Sea at the port of Brindisi" on Saturday over suspicions of EU sanctions violations.
  • A court in Brindisi approved the seizure of the ship and its cargo, said to contain 33,000 tons of ferrous metal. Italian authorities uncovered "serious irregularities" with the ship's documentation and noted its efforts "to evade tracking systems" which "pointed to loading operations carried out at a Russian port subject to EU sanctions."
  • According to "the vessel's electronic chart display and information system", it appeared "the ship was present in the port of Novorossiysk between Nov. 13 and 16, 2025, where it allegedly conducted prohibited loading activities". Further, "the vessel's automatic identification system had been switched off near Novorossiysk". Four individuals are under investigation as a result of the incident, including an importer, the shipowner and two crew members.

 

FLENSBURG, GERMANY – Germany turns away Russian shadow fleet ship in Baltic Sea

  • The Kyiv Independent, citing Bloomberg and Tageschau, reports last Friday that earlier in the week "Germany turned away a Russian-linked oil tanker from entering its territorial waters, marking the first known instance of a European country blocking a vessel in Moscow's shadow fleet".
  • Named Arcusat, the Aframax-class tanker "abruptly changed course" as it approached Germany's territorial waters and rerouted in the direction of Russia's Arctic coast. The ship was "sailing through the narrow strait between Denmark and Sweden and had signaled a destination in the Gulf of Finland before reversing." Germany's federal police "citing irregularities in the documentation and identity" instead turned the ship away.
  • Databases and shipping industry sources told the paper "the Arcusat is listed as having 'never existed.'" The International Maritime Organization (IMO) "shows no matching record for the vessel's IMO identification number." The ship was delivered from a Chinese shipyard last year but there are discrepancies in databases regarding what flag it is sailing under; some list Tanzania, others Cameroon. The ship also "appeared under a provisional name before disappearing from maritime registries."

 

MUNICH, GERMANY – Man accused of car attack last year goes on trial

  • The BBC reports last Friday a man identified only as Farhad N., in accordance with strict German privacy laws, went on trial for "driving his car into a crowd of people in the city of Munich last year, killing two people."
  • The Afghan national "shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and prayed after committing the act", which killed "A 37-year-old woman called Amel and her two-year-old daughter Hafsa" on February 13 of last year. Forty four others were injured, a number of them critically. Farhad N. allegedly drove a BMW Mini into a trade union rally of municipal workers including "hospital and day care staff calling for better wages" in the center of Munich. Amel worked as an engineer and came from a family that brought her from Algeria to Germany when she was four years old.
  • Farhad N.'s trial opened last Friday "only a few hundred metres from the scene of the attack." While he watched "extremist preachers online," the authorities "do not believe he was part of any jihadist movement such as Islamic State."

 

MUNICH, GERMANY – Iranian foreign minister disinvited to security conference

  • Politico reports last Friday the Munich Security Conference (MSC) has disinvited Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi from attending next month over the lethal crackdown on thousands of protesters.
  • MSC justified the decision citing "recent developments". Last week, Araghchi described the protests against the regime as "violent riots".
  • It is unclear whether members of the Iranian opposition have been invited and will attend. The MSC spokesperson said, "As a matter of principle, we do not publish invitation or participant lists prior to the start of the conference."

 

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – Iran's foreign minister also disinvited to Davos

  • Politico reports Monday that the World Economic Forum in Davos also disinvited Arraghchi from its annual Alpine pow wow.
  • Unlike the Munich Security Conference, however, they were less coy and owning it, writing on X, "Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year."
  • US-based pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran said Sunday that "it had learned that Araghchi had been 'quietly added to the schedule for a speaking slot.'" US Senator Lindsey Graham also "slammed organizers for having invited Iran's top diplomat" in the hours before the World Economic Forum made its public statement about rescinding the invite to Araghchi.

 

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Iranian diplomat seeks asylum in Switzerland

  • Iran International reports Sunday that "A senior Iranian diplomat based at the United Nations' European headquarters in Geneva has left his post and applied for asylum in Switzerland," citing diplomatic sources.
  • The official, Alireza Jeyrani Hokmabad, has reportedly sought asylum along with his family. He served as a counsellor at Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva "and served as minister plenipotentiary, effectively the deputy head of the mission". Jeyrani reportedly feared "potential repercussions linked to the ongoing political and social upheaval" in Iran and had "concerns over the stability of the Islamic Republic's governing structure."
  • Swiss authorities have not commented on the case.

 

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Trial over 2022 brawl between Bandido and Hells Angels opens

  • Swissinfo reports Monday that the trial of four over a brawl that evolved into a gunfight in 2022 between the rival gangs the Bandido and the Hells Angels opened in Geneva.
  • Four defendents ranging in ages from their thirties to 64 opened under tight security with two of the accused facing charges of attempted murder and endangering the lives of other people. The other two individuals were also party to "a brawl that broke out in a café on the rue de l'Ecole-de-Médecine in Geneva in May 2022, but were not responsible for the shots exchanged."
  • One of the defendents also faces charges in connection with stabbings in 2019 and a drug case. Security has been "stepped up" after a trial between the two gangs in Bern in 2022 led to "problems".

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Former intelligence officer accused of spying for Russia on trial

  • The BBC reports Thursday the trial of former Austrian intelligence officer Egisto Ott who is accused of spying for Russia began in Vienna.
  • Ott told the court he is not guilty of "having handed over information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive executive of collapsed German payments firm Wirecard." Prosecutors allege Ott "was 'not romantic about Russia'" but rather "acted out of financial motives and frustration with his career."
  • Allegedly broke since 2013 "at the latest," Ott allegedly collected "large amounts of personal data, such as locations, vehicle registration numbers, or travel movements", which he did "between 2015 and 2020 without authorisation, often using national and international police databases."
  • Observers are watching the trial carefully for what information might emerge about Marsalek, one of Europe's most wanted fugitives who is believed to be in Russia working for Russian intelligence following the collapse of Wirecard in June 2020. He allegedly fled through Austria with the assistance of an Austrian MP, Thomas Schellenbacher, who "has been charged with helping Marsalek to escape".

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Far-right party launches 'patriotic' radio station

  • German press agency dpa reports Saturday the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is launching a "party-controlled" radio station called Austria First which party leader Herbert Kickl described as "Austria's first patriotic radio station" at a New Year party conference.
  • Addressing some 5,000 supporters, Kickl said an absolute majority was "achievable." He went on to paint "a bleak picture" of the country, one of the wealthiest in the world.
  • Kickl also made other bread-and-butter far-right points: the current three-party coalition is in power for the sake of power whereas Kickl and his party's motivations are pure and people-oriented, immigrants are bad and ergo, a "Fortress Austria" model is needed.

 

PRAGUE, CZECHIA – Ruling coalition rejects sale of fighter jets to Ukraine

  • Radio Prague International reports Monday the ruling coalition comprised of ANO, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Motorists for Themselves rejected the sale of L-159 fighter jets to Ukraine, citiing high replacement costs among other reasons.
  • Tomio Okamura, the leader of the Social Democrats, said after meeting coalition partners "that while the jets have a low residual value, their combat value remains high" and that "replacing them would cost far more than any sale and that the army still needs the aircraft."
  • On Sunday, Czech President Petr Pavel offered the Ukrainians' interest in purchasing the jets was "an opportunity for Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody" and that "four aircraft from the army's fleet of twenty-four would pose an acceptable level of risk." The Kyiv Independent hightlights the intra-government dispute "underscores the foreign policy divide between Czechia's Ukraine-friendly head of state and the country's new ruling populist coalition."

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Hearing over decades of Baghdad embassy unpaid rent to Jewish family

  • The New York Times reports Sunday on a hearing in Paris Monday over decades of unpaid rent to a Jewish family, the Lawees, originally of Baghdad, who rented their family home they build from the ground up to France for use as an embassy.
  • The claims of 86-year-old Mayer Lawee, the last living heir of the two brothers who build the house, Ezra and Khedouri Lawee, involve "an unusual blend of contractual and human rights claims." The two brothers began construction on their home in 1935; the Lawees fled after the founding of Israel in 1948 along with approximately 900,000 others "who fled or were expelled from Arab and Muslim countries". The family relocated to Canada and a caretaker was left in charge of the Baghdad property until he made a deal with France in 1964 that the country could use the house as an embassy, which it does to this day.
  • While "The precise terms of that agreement, just what happened afterward and which laws apply are in dispute", after 1969 "when Iraq claimed ownership of the mansion," the Iraqi state has received rent, with France discontinuing rent payments to the Lawees five years later in 1974. France argues that "Iraqi laws depriving Jews of property, beginning in the 1950s, justified French compliance with Iraqi authorities." On the other side, the family wants $22 million for what is being called "a moral claim," one that is "embarassing for the French government."

 

Stay safe and get ready to board the peace train!

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