Russian Presidential Representative Proposes "Putin-Trump Tunnel"; Zelenskyy: "I Am Not Satisfied"

　　Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's special representative for foreign investment and economic cooperation, recently proposed collaborating with the United States to build a "Putin-Trump Tunnel" across the Bering Strait, aiming to connect the two countries and jointly explore natural resources. On the 17th, when U.S. President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met and were asked by reporters about this matter, Trump expressed interest, while Zelenskyy responded, "I am not satisfied."

　　AFP and Reuters reported that Dmitriev put forward this idea on social media on the evening of the 16th. He stated that the concept of establishing a "bridge of peace" between Russia and Alaska, USA, dates back to the Cold War era. He also released a hand-drawn sketch of the tunnel route from that time and a schematic diagram of the potential route for the new tunnel.

　　The Russian mainland and Alaska are separated by the Bering Strait, with the narrowest point of the strait being about 82 kilometers wide, while the closest distance between islands belonging to the US and Russia is only about 4 kilometers.

　　On the 16th, Trump and Russian President Putin held a lengthy phone call, after which they announced that they would meet soon in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Reuters commented that Dmitriev made the proposal after the call, intending to launch a "charm offensive" towards the US by building the tunnel to reset bilateral relations.

　　According to AFP, when Trump met with Zelenskyy at the White House on the 17th, he was asked by reporters about the Russian tunnel proposal and said, "A tunnel from Russia to Alaska. Interesting." He mentioned that he had just learned about this potential cross-border project and asked Zelenskyy, "Mr. President, what do you think? How do you feel about this idea?"

　　Since Trump took office in January of this year, the US government's stance on Russia-Ukraine peace talks has repeatedly changed: initially claiming that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could be ended within 24 hours, later stating that the US would withdraw from mediation, and then saying it was "a joke." On August 15, Trump and Putin held the first face-to-face meeting between US and Russian leaders in over four years in Anchorage, Alaska, but no agreement was reached. The Russia-Ukraine ceasefire negotiations remain deadlocked.

　　Earlier this year, Trump pressured Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and in late September, he claimed that Ukraine had the ability to "take back the whole of Ukraine." When asked by reporters on the 17th whether Ukraine needed to exchange territory for peace, Trump simply said, "No one knows." He also ruled out the possibility of a trilateral meeting between the leaders of the US, Russia, and Ukraine in the near future.