(ConservativeHub.com) – The Washington Post reported in a recent exclusive that business leaders from China and Russia had been holding secret talks and were considering constructing an underwater tunnel connecting Crimea and Russia.
The Ukrainian military had allegedly found references to the tunnel in their communications logs. This would show unprecedented collaboration from Beijing as previously they had not recognized that Russia had sovereignty over Crimea.
Russia is allegedly looking into the move as an alternate option to its 11-mile bridge across the Kerch Strait. The bridge has faced bomb attacks a number of times since Ukraine was invaded last year.
The report stated that workers from the Chinese Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) were prepared to begin the railway construction and construction of the road project in the Crimean region. The CRCC is being operated by the Chinese Communist Party and is a state-owned enterprise.
The outlet further stated that an email sent by Vladimir Kalyuzhny, a Russian business leader, also noted that there was interest in the project and that CRCC wanted to become the tunnel project’s general contractor.
Kalyuzhny referred to the issue as “hot air” and rejected the claim that there was any such cooperation between CRCC and Russia.
Still, other communication reportedly showed that the Chinese Communist Party is looking to stay out of the spotlight in the project and are looking for complete confidentiality in the project. The report also alleges that the CRCC would be working on the Kerch Strait project, but that a different “unaffiliated legal entity” would be attributed to it.
Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, and China has not yet recognized Russia’s sovereignty over the region.
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