Moscow: Russia, in a highly unexpected move after very long and cold relations, put forward a bold idea of a “Putin-Trump Friendship Tunnel” that would be linking Russia’s very remote Chukotka area with Alaska, going under the Bering Strait.
The 70 mile (112 km) rail and cargo line project, with an estimated cost of $8 billion, is aimed at interconnecting the two countries, having exploration of natural resources as a joint venture, and becoming living proof of their unity.
This insane idea of Kirill Dmitriev, the head of RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, came up after the phone conversation of presidents Putin and Trump. It is said that in their talk, the presidents touched upon peace efforts in Ukraine and decided to meet in Budapest. Dmitriev, who has been for a long time the promoter of US-Russia rapprochement, chimes in by saying that Elon Musk’s Boring Company might be the one doing the tunnel work, thereby reducing the cost from as much as $65 billion to just about $8 billion using advanced technology.
The Bering Strait is what separates Russia and the US, with the distance between the two countries being only 51 miles at the narrowest point and the Diomede Islands, one of which is Russian and the other American, lying just 2.4 miles apart. The notion of uniting the two continents has been floated for 150 years, and there have been references to a Cold War-era “Kennedy-Khrushchev Peace Bridge”.
In the mind of Dmitriev, the tunnel should become a revolutionary link, not only connecting Russia and the US but also America with Eurasia and Africa through railways which would be extended to China and Canada.
Though the tunnel is a symbol of the future and a great economic potential, there are huge obstacles standing in the way. Among others, Chukotka’s infrastructure is in a terrible state and has to be completely rebuilt.
According to the current understanding, the funds would be provided by Moscow and some foreign partners; however, the details are lacking. This idea has got the whole world talking, and there are a lot of people wondering if this “dream project” will be able to melt down the icy relations between the US and Russia.
The world is looking on while the tunnel is a daring conception of collaboration which could alter geopolitics and trade. Will it be realised or stay a dream? Only the future can answer that.