A large part of the world’s supply of diamonds comes from Russia. The U.S. and Europe may try to cut off the revenue the country is raising from the gems given the war in Ukraine.
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Russia’s one of the world’s biggest diamond suppliers, and the sale of the product is an important source of revenue for the country. So far, the gems have not been subjected to the same kind of sanctions that the country’s oil and banking industries have faced. But NPR’s Jackie Northam reports there are efforts underway to change that.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: The port city of Antwerp, Belgium, has been the capital of the diamond trade for hundreds of years, with traders and jewelers concentrated within a picture-book area of the city less than a square mile in size. Now the war in Ukraine has arrived at Antwerp’s door. The European Union has tried several times to sanction Russian diamonds, but Belgium prevented it.
HANS MERKET: There’s always been a pushback. Belgium is the only player in the diamonds business in the EU. It’s only – also the only country who would have – who would feel the impact of any sanctions.
For the rest of this article: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/09/1168839350/the-eu-is-trying-to-sanction-diamonds-from-russia