In an unexpected move that’s drawing global attention, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly trying to win favor with Donald Trump through a £6 billion (about $8 billion) infrastructure proposal a tunnel that would physically connect Russia and the United States beneath the icy waters of the Bering Strait.
According to sources close to the Kremlin, the idea is being promoted by Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and a well-known associate of Katerina Tikhonova, Putin’s daughter. Dmitriev described the vision as a “Putin-Trump Tunnel” a 70-mile underwater route that would link Eurasia and North America, symbolizing cooperation rather than confrontation.
He even suggested that Elon Musk’s The Boring Company could participate in drilling operations, calling it a project that could “change global trade forever.” Dmitriev estimated the tunnel could be completed in eight years, envisioning trains and cargo lines running directly from the Trans-Siberian Railway into Alaska.
The idea, however, comes at a politically charged time. Analysts believe the Kremlin’s sudden enthusiasm for a cross-continental megaproject may be part of a broader effort to discourage Washington from supplying long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine a move Russia strongly opposes.
The concept of a Russia-America land link is not new. Similar plans have appeared several times in history from the Tsarist era, when engineers under Nicholas II dreamed of connecting the continents, to Cold War proposals such as the so-called Kennedy-Khrushchev Peace Bridge of the 1960s. None ever materialized due to cost, climate, and geopolitical rivalry.
The narrowest point between Russia’s Cape Dezhnev and Alaska’s Cape Prince of Wales spans just 51 miles, with Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (U.S.) islands only 2.5 miles apart making them natural stepping stones for any future link.
As of now, the “Putin-Trump Tunnel” remains an ambitious idea rather than an approved plan. But it underscores the renewed diplomatic dance between Moscow and Washington. With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky preparing to meet Donald Trump at the White House this week and with another Putin-Trump summit rumored for Budapest the Bering Strait tunnel proposal adds a surprising new twist to the evolving global conversation.
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