Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy said the country and the U.S. will sign an agreement to design an underwater tunnel connecting Russia’s Chukotka region to Alaska across the Bering Strait.
Kirill Dmitriev, who is also head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, made the announcement Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“As regards, the tunnel, we have a piece of news for tomorrow that we will continue tunnel engineering. The tunnel will take place,” he told Russian TV channel Zvezda, according to a translation by state-owned news agency TASS.
He added that this will be one of the major infrastructure projects between Russia and the U.S.
Mr. Dmitriev said he spoke by phone with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to discuss economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington. U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed the call.
“The most important topic is economic cooperation, as we see many joint economic initiatives that we can implement, and we are actively preparing them,” Mr. Dmitriev said.
“Accordingly, we are preparing for joint investment with the U.S. in various projects that are beneficial for both Russia and the U.S., including in Russia,” he added.
Mr. Dmitriev introduced the “Putin-Trump Tunnel” last October to connect Russia and Alaska through a 70-mile rail-and-cargo link across the Bering Strait.
He suggested it could be built in less than eight years, and while the cost could exceed $65 billion, he said it could be reduced to $8 billion with help from Elon Musk’s Boring Co., which constructs tunnels.
Mr. Dmitriev proposed the tunnel after Mr. Putin spoke with Mr. Trump by phone, also in October, regarding the war in Ukraine. After the call, Mr. Dmitriev wrote to Mr. Musk on social media.
“Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel — a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are $65B+, but @boringcompany’s tech could reduce it to <$8B. Let’s build a future together,” Mr. Dmitriev posted.
In a series of October posts, Mr. Dmitriev cited RDIF’s Russia-China railroad bridge as a precedent.
“RDIF has already invested in and built the first ever Russia-China railroad bridge. The time has come to do more and connect the Continents for the first time in human history. The time has come to connect Russia and the US,” Mr. Dmitriev wrote.
“The dream of a US-Russia link via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision — from the 1904 Siberia-Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan [for a Bering Strait tunnel]. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US-Canada-Russia-China railroad, and will support the most viable,” he added.
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