Kremlin Envoy Proposes ‘Putin-Trump Tunnel’ to Connect Russia and the U.S. via Alaska

Kremlin Envoy Suggests ‘Putin-Trump Tunnel’ to Connect Russia and the United States

Illustration of the proposed undersea “Putin–Trump Tunnel” project connecting Russia’s Chukotka region with Alaska across the Bering Strait. (AI-generated image)

A senior Russian official has put forward a bold new idea — building an undersea tunnel between Russia and the United States, with potential assistance from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s The Boring Company.

A Vision to Link Alaska and Siberia

Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin’s investment envoy and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), revealed plans for a 112-kilometre (70-mile) rail and cargo tunnel that would connect Siberia with Alaska.

According to Dmitriev, such a link could open the door to joint resource exploration and trade between the two countries.

Trump Calls the Proposal “Interesting”

US President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, was asked about the idea and described it as “interesting.”

However, when Trump turned to Zelenskyy for his thoughts, the Ukrainian leader said he was “not happy with this idea.”

The proposal aligns with Trump’s well-known “drill, baby drill” stance, reflecting his administration’s focus on expanding energy production.

Energy Cooperation and Arctic Ambitions

Dmitriev has also suggested that the United States could work alongside Russia and China on joint energy projects in the Arctic, an area becoming increasingly accessible as polar ice melts due to climate change.

“Certainly, Russia is looking at the possibility of trilateral cooperation with the US and China, especially in the energy and Arctic sectors,” he said in remarks reported by Russia’s TASS news agency.

Several Arctic nations, including Russia, are reportedly preparing to expand their oil and mineral extraction operations in the region.

Elon Musk Invited to Join the Project

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Dmitriev tagged Elon Musk, inviting The Boring Company to be part of the ambitious tunnel plan.

“Let’s build a future together,” Dmitriev wrote, calling the proposal a “symbol of unity” between East and West.

He dubbed the concept the “Putin-Trump Tunnel”, imagining it as a link between the Americas and Eurasia.

As of Friday evening (US time), Musk had not publicly commented on the proposal.

Historical Context: A Century-Old Dream

The idea of linking Russia and the United States through the Bering Strait — the narrow stretch of water between Alaska and Russia’s Chukotka region — is not new.

The strait is only 82 kilometres (51 miles) wide at its narrowest point, and the two Diomede Islands (one Russian, one American) sit merely 4 kilometres (2.4 miles) apart.

Dmitriev noted that similar concepts were discussed during the Cold War, including a proposed “Kennedy–Khrushchev World Peace Bridge.”

He even shared an old sketch of that plan, alongside a modern visual of how the new tunnel might look.

“Time to Connect Continents”

“The time has come to take a bigger step — to connect continents for the first time in human history,” Dmitriev said, calling the project a symbol of cooperation rather than competition.

The proposal surfaced shortly after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly held a two-hour phone call, ahead of a planned meeting in Budapest within the next two weeks — confirmed by both Washington and the Kremlin.