G7 to sanction Russian diamonds as of January – by LAURA HÜLSEMANN AND BARBARA MOENS (Politico EU – December 6, 2023)

https://www.politico.eu/

Russian diamonds are one of the last resources not sanctioned by the G7, meaning the profits from selling them can go into the Kremlin’s war chest.

G7 leaders on Wednesday agreed to impose a direct import ban on Russian diamonds as of January, while introducing a tracing system for diamonds during next year.

Russian diamonds are one of the last resources not sanctioned by the G7, meaning the profits from selling them can go into the Kremlin’s war chest.

On Wednesday, G7 leaders decided to “introduce import restrictions on non-industrial diamonds, mined, processed, or produced in Russia, by January 1, 2024, followed by further phased restrictions on the import of Russian diamonds processed in third countries targeting March 1, 2024,” they said in a statement.

Countries that import rough diamonds within the G7 are set to establish “a robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds” by September 1, 2024, they decided. The G7 countries said they needed that time to overcome technical difficulties in tracing the origin of Russian diamonds.

For the rest of this article: https://www.politico.eu/article/g7-russia-diamonds-sanctions-ukraine-war-as-of-january/