US, EU want to strip Russia of diamond revenues

US State Department Sanctions Coordinator James O'Brien and Deputy Director General and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer of the European Commission (EC) Denis Redonnet met with representatives of leading US and European diamond retailers, manufacturers, laboratories and industry trade associations.

The issue appeared on the US State Department’s official website on March 6, Caliber.Az reports.

“Russia continues to earn billions of dollars from the diamond trade, and the discussion centred on the most effective and impactful ways to disrupt that revenue stream. The United States and European Union remain committed to imposing economic consequences on Russia for its unprovoked war in Ukraine,” the Department’s website says.

In February, Poland imposed six conditions when agreeing on the 10th package of anti-Russian sanctions, one of which was to limit future deliveries of Russian diamonds. G7 countries (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the United States) spoke about similar plans. Russia's diamond mining company ALROSA is now under US and UK sanctions.