Updated October 18, 2025
Russia and the United States should build a "Putin-Trump" rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to link their countries, unlock joint exploration of natural resources and "symbolise unity", a Kremlin envoy has suggested.
The proposal by Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy and head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, envisages a construction project costing $8 billion, funded by Moscow and "international partners", to build a 70-mile (112-km) rail and cargo link in under eight years.
Dmitriev, who has helped spearhead a Russian charm offensive designed to revive U.S.-Russia ties, floated the idea late on Thursday after Putin spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump by phone and agreed to meet in Budapest to seek a way to stop the war in Ukraine.
Asked about the idea on Friday by a reporter during a meeting in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump called the idea "interesting" and asked Zelenskiy what he made of it. "I'm not happy with this idea," the Ukrainian leader said, prompting laughter from the U.S. side.
"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. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US–Canada–Russia–China railroad, and will support the most viable," Dmitriev wrote on X.
https://www.reuters.com/world/kremlin-e ... 025-10-17/
