With the emergence of the idea of economic interdependence during the Cold War era, geopolitical rivals have lessened the chances of a major war through trade and diplomacy. The economic interdependence theory suggests that states engaged in economic pacts and trade are less likely to go to war. Since then, the world has noticed that Great and middle powers have avoided war through leveraging trade and economic opportunities. Its best manifestation could be the US-China, US-Russia, and Sino-Indian economic engagements.
All these rival factions undergo billions of trade throughout the year, despite the fact that their strategic postures are against each other. The objective is one: to avoid another major war. Following this idea, as of October 2025, Russia has offered the Trump administration to establish a tunnel alongside the Bering Strait to connect the US and Russia, bringing not only prosperity but a way forward to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Historical Perspective: Unveiling Kennedy’s Assassination
As of October 2025, Russian Intelligence agencies have found secret files on the murder case of Former US President John F. Kennedy. Russia has handed over this document to the United States. It is a 350-page document that the US agencies are constantly striving to translate. However, a single page of the document has exposed secret archives and grabbed the media’s attention worldwide. In this document, a page clearly mentions a planned bridge connecting the US to the USSR under the title of “Kennedy-Khrushchev World Peace Bridge”. On the map is a handwritten note, “Could and should be built between Alaska and Russia. At once.” The document was shared online by Representative from Florida, Anna Paulina Luna. The file could shed light on the Soviet secret agency KGB’s insights into JFK’s assassination in 1963 during the height of the Cold War.
The Putin-Trump Undersea Tunnel
Based on the idea of the Kennedy-Khrushchev Peace Bridge and on the fact that economic entanglements during heightened tensions could lessen them, Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and one of the main figures involved in negotiations with Steve Witkoff over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, proposed the revival of the Bering rail link, naming it as “Putin-Trump Tunnel.” This tunnel would link Russia and America via the Bering Strait that lies between Alaska and the Chukotka region of Russia.
The tunnel would measure approximately 112km. This project was proposed by Russian investor Kirill Dmitriev as a friendship between Russia and the US, and he referred to it as a connection between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas. He argued that a modern tunneling technology would make this project cost less than 8 billion US dollars and take less than eight years, which is much cheaper than previous estimates of over 65 billion dollars. The project would enable trade, connect transport routes, and enable both countries to cooperate on the Arctic resources.
Role of Elon Musk
Kirill Dmitriev, on his X-account, mentioned Elon Musk stating, “imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are more than $65 billion, but Boring Company’s tech could reduce them to less than $8 billion. Let’s build a future together.” The following are the key reasons for using Elon Musk as a diplomatic leverage with the US:
- Elon Musk’s companies and tech corporations are world-renowned due to their high-tech and advanced AI-based mechanism. This would definitely provide Russian corporations with a chance to take advantage of this.
- Elon Musk is very close to President Trump. Using this as leverage, Putin is trying to de-escalate US-Russia tensions and to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.
- Musk’s international reach and prestige are of utmost significance. It would definitely promote a goodwill gesture of Russia to a wider community.
- This single project would allow US-Russia joint business endeavors in the near future, opening the doors of economic interdependence.
- Musk’s companies could also reduce the cost of tunnel creation due to their advanced, yet cheap, techniques to accomplish big projects within a reasonable amount of time.
Rationale Behind Tunnel Scheme
After the dissolution of the USSR, the world witnessed a easing in tensions between the two great powers. Both cooperated with each other in order to promote arms control, disarmament, and economic interdependence. By using the tunnel as a leverage tool, Russia is now trying to ease tensions with the US. As President Trump is a business-minded leader, Putin is taking advantage of this. This offer would compel Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible, to pursue business relations with Russia. This tunnel would further allow both superpowers to jointly explore the Arctic resources. Moreover, throughout the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, President Putin has been portrayed as a killer and a vicious person by the West. Even the UN has condemned Putin for the humanitarian losses in Ukraine. This tunnel allows Putin to pose a goodwill gesture to the international community that he wants to end the war and open the doors of economic prosperity for the West.
Possible Repercussions
- If President Trump accepts this joint venture, this would definitely erode the US-EU trust relationship, and the US would further lose its reliability as a strategic partner.
- This project would allow the international community to lift sanctions on Russia, giving it access to critical and advanced Western technology, which in turn is a nightmare for Europe.
- The tunnel could also increase security risks between the east and the west. Such routes are being used by rivals for intelligence and spying. Russian intelligence agencies could find another way to get into the Western territories.
- This project would further allow EU dependency on Russia. As of now, the EU is not able to tackle oil and gas dependence on Russia, and relying further would evade European autonomy.
- The construction of this tunnel would be catastrophic as it would require not only a high cost but also risk the lives of laborers, as was the case with Panama Canal construction.
- Such projects could harm the marine ecosystem, and further exploration and strategic competition in the Arctic could seriously create climatic hurdles for the entire world.
Conclusion
It is often said that when a tank moves on the battleground, the economy shakes, and Russia is no exception to this. War expenditures, Western sanctions, and now President Trump’s tariffs have resulted in dire economic losses for Russia. NATO is further considering utilizing frozen Russian assets by giving aid to Ukraine. Thus, President Putin himself wants to take his country out of this war. The Trump-Putin tunnel is one of the perks Russia has offered to the Trump administration. No doubt, the project could ease the current tensions, but the negative implications of this tunnel can’t be ignored. The US must consider these implications before giving a friendly handshake to Russia.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
He is pursuing a BS in International Relations programme from International Islamic University, Islamabad and has a keen interest in research works, policy analysis, defence and strategic studies and conflict resolution.