A top Russian official is promoting the construction of a “Putin-Trump” rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to connect Russia and the United States—an idea that President Trump called “interesting.”
Kirill Dmitriev, an investment envoy for President Vladimir Putin and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said the proposal calls for a 70-mile rail and cargo tunnel connecting Siberia to Alaska. The project is envisioned to be built by Elon Musk’s Boring Company.
Mr. Dmitriev estimated that the tunnel could be completed in eight years at a projected cost of less than $8 billion. This figure is far below previous estimates of more than $65 billion, thanks to The Boring Company’s advanced tunneling technology. He added that the project would be funded by Moscow along with “international partners.”
In a post on the social media platform X, Mr. Dmitriev pitched the idea directly to Elon Musk: “Imagine connecting the U.S. and Russia, the Americas and Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel, a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Let’s build a future together.”
The concept of a U.S.-Russia connection is not new. Mr. Dmitriev noted that the Russian Direct Investment Fund has studied existing proposals, including those from the U.S., to explore the idea further.
This tunnel proposal surfaced following a recent phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin, during which the two leaders agreed to meet in Budapest to discuss a potential resolution to the war in Ukraine.
When asked about the tunnel project on Friday, Mr. Trump expressed curiosity: “That’s an interesting one. We’ll have to think about that. I hadn’t heard that.” He also confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other high-level advisers will meet with a Russian delegation before his summit with Mr. Putin in Hungary.
The announcement of the summit appears to have caught President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine by surprise. Mr. Zelensky was at the White House on Friday hoping to secure a commitment from Mr. Trump to provide Tomahawk long-range missiles to his military. However, such assistance now seems less likely before the Budapest meeting.
Commenting on the Bering Strait tunnel proposal, Mr. Zelensky said, “I’m not happy with this idea.”
Any attempt to tunnel under the Bering Strait faces significant practical hurdles. The region is known for its below-freezing temperatures, lack of existing infrastructure, and frequent, deep earthquakes.
The Boring Company has no experience operating in such harsh conditions. Until now, it has worked primarily in hot, dry areas with ample infrastructure. Additionally, the company has faced regulatory scrutiny.
ProPublica recently reported that The Boring Company was fined in Nevada for an “extraordinary number of violations,” including digging without approval and improperly handling waste. The company is currently developing the “Music City Loop,” a 10-mile tunnel project in Nashville, which has sparked protests from residents concerned about inadequate planning in the flood-prone city.
Elon Musk’s business ties with Russia are also notable. His electric vehicle company, Tesla, has purchased millions of dollars’ worth of aluminum from Rusal, a firm founded by sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
https://www.nysun.com/article/russia-proposes-a-putin-trump-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait-tweaking-trumps-interest