【By Observer Net, Chen Sijia】On October 17, Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of the Russian President for foreign investment and economic cooperation, and the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), proposed a bold idea, suggesting that Russia and the United States should build a "Putin-Trump" railway tunnel across the Bering Strait to connect the two countries and open up joint natural resource exploration.

This proposal caught the attention of US President Trump, but it caused dissatisfaction with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. According to the New York Post, on the 17th, Trump met with Zelenskyy at the White House, where he asked Zelenskyy about his opinion on the Russia-US tunnel project. Zelenskyy directly stated that he didn't like the idea, which led to laughter from Trump and others present at the meeting.

Trump and Zelenskyy held several hours of talks discussing a wide range of issues, including long-range weapons. Trump clearly stated that the US would not currently provide Ukraine with the long-range missiles it has sought, capable of reaching deep into Russia. He pointed out that providing Ukraine with "Tomahawk" missiles could lead to further escalation, and "many bad things could happen."

Video footage showed that during the meeting, a journalist asked Trump about his view on the Russia-US Bering Strait tunnel project proposed by Dmitriev. Trump responded, "I just heard about it — a tunnel from Russia to Alaska, I just heard about this. It's an interesting question, and we must consider it."

Then, Trump turned to Zelenskyy and asked him, "Mr. President, what do you think? What do you think of this idea?" Zelenskyy replied directly, "I don't like this idea."

Zelenskyy's response caused laughter, and Trump also laughed, saying, "I guess you won't like this idea! I know he won't like this idea!"

Trump's response to the Russia-US Bering Strait tunnel project and his joke about Zelenskyy, screenshot from video

Dmitriev proposed the idea of a Russia-US Bering Strait tunnel on the social platform X on the 17th. He cited a Soviet-era document, stating, "The Kennedy-Hurricane World Peace Bridge can and should be built immediately between Alaska and Russia. With modern technology from the Boring Company, this can become the Putin-Trumpe Tunnel connecting Eurasia and America."

He believed that this Russia-US joint project could create jobs, open up joint natural resource exploration, promote economic development, and "symbolize unity."

"The Russian Direct Investment Fund has invested in and built the first Russia-China railway bridge. Now it's time to connect the continent for the first time, connecting Russia and the US," he said. "The dream of connecting the US and Russia through the Bering Strait reflects a lasting vision... The Russian Direct Investment Fund has studied existing proposals, including the US-Canada-Russia-China railway, and will support the most feasible plan."

The Boring Company is a tunnel construction company under American billionaire Elon Musk. Dmitriev @ed Musk on X, claiming that the traditional cost of the Bering Strait tunnel exceeds $6.5 billion, "but the Boring Company's technology can reduce it to $800 million. Let's work together to create the future."

Dmitriev also posted on the 18th that the Russian Direct Investment Fund had started feasibility studies on the Russia-Alaska tunnel six months ago.

The New York Post reported that Musk and the Boring Company have not yet responded to Dmitriev's proposal.

Dmitriev's rough sketch of the Bering Strait tunnel route, social media

Reuters mentioned that the narrowest point of the Bering Strait is about 82 kilometers wide, separating Russia's vast and sparsely populated Chukchi Autonomous Okrug from Alaska, USA. The idea of connecting the two places has been proposed at least 150 years ago. The Diomede Islands located in the center of the Bering Strait, one island belongs to Russia, the other to the US, and the two islands are only about 4 kilometers apart.

However, the report noted that building such a tunnel would require massive funds, and constructing and upgrading infrastructure on both sides of the Bering Strait would also be costly. The New York Post also pointed out that building an underwater tunnel near the Bering Strait would be a challenging task, meaning that construction workers would need to work in environments with frequent earthquakes and extremely low temperatures.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562865859207660086/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and welcomes your attitude by clicking the [top/down] button below.