Putin-Trump tunnel to connect Russia-US soon? Trump says 'interesting' proposal, Zelensky 'not happy'

A Kremlin envoy suggested that Russia and the United States build a “Putin-Trump” rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to connect the two countries, enable joint exploration of natural resources and serve as a symbol of unity. While US President Donald Trump found this proposal “interesting”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “not happy” with the idea. “A tunnel from Russia to Alaska — I just heard about that one,” Trump said, adding, “That’s an interesting one. We’ll have to think about it.” The proposal comes from Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy and head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund. He proposed an $8 billion ‘Putin-Trump tunnel’ project, funded by Moscow and “international partners”, to build a 70-mile (112 km) rail and freight link in less than eight years. The idea to build a ‘Putin-Trump tunnel’ came about after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held phone conversations to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine and agreed to meet in Budapest. Asked about the idea Friday by a reporter during a meeting in Washington with Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump called the idea “interesting” and asked Zelensky what he made of it. “I’m not happy with this idea,” the Ukrainian leader said, drawing laughter from the American side. “The dream of a US-Russia connection via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision – from the 1904 Siberia-Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US-Canada-Russia-China railway, and will support the most viable,” Dmitriev Musriev also wrote on X The proposed contract of Elon Mus. that the ‘Putin-Trump Tunnel’ could be built by The Boring Company, an American tunnel construction company owned by American billionaire Elon Musk. He wrote to Elon Musk on X: “Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump tunnel – a 70-mile link that symbolizes unity. Traditional cost is $65 billion, but @boringcompany’s technology can reduce it to $8 billion. Let’s build a future together.” Trump-Zelensky Meet Donald Trump hosts Volodymyr Zelensky for talks at the White House on Friday, with the US leader signaling he is not ready to agree to sell Kyiv a long-range missile system the Ukrainians say they desperately need. In recent days, Trump has shown an openness to selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, even as Putin has warned that such a move would further strain U.S.-Russia relations. But after Thursday’s call with Putin, Trump appeared to downplay Ukraine’s prospects of removing the missiles, which have a range of about 1,600 kilometers. (With agency input)