The G7 countries and the European Union are discussing ways to trace Russian diamonds, which could ease the imposition of restrictions on their sale, the agency said. Bloomberg February 19th.
The material noted that tracking diamonds in global markets is not an easy task, and therefore should not be expected to be resolved soon. However, it is specified that the G7 countries may issue a statement on this issue next week.
Previous attempts by the EU to impose sanctions on Russian gems have met with resistance from importing countries such as Belgium. They argued that such an effort would be futile as transactions would simply move elsewhere without a diamond tracking mechanism, writes Bloomberg.
In September last year, the EU refused to include in the list of sanctions the import of diamonds from Russia because of Belgium, despite concerns about possible damage to the world’s leading diamond industry in Antwerp. Then the representative of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, Tom Neys, said that the business was already under pressure due to the requirements of regulators and customers.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on February 16 of this year that the United States and G7 partners intend to introduce a new package of anti-Russian sanctions on February 24. According to her, the sanctions will affect, among other things, the Russian military-industrial complex and the supply of high-tech equipment.
Western countries began to tighten sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow’s special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24. The situation in the region escalated significantly in mid-February due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
