Editor’s Note
This article outlines the EU’s latest sanctions package, which includes a significant ban on the import of Russian diamonds, effective January 1.
The EU member states have approved a new package of sanctions against Russia. This package also includes a ban on the import of Russian diamonds, as the Council of Member States announced in Brussels on Monday, according to the news agency dpa. As of January 1, the 27 member states of the European Union will no longer be allowed to purchase natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as diamond jewelry, that come directly from Russia. The only exception: they are intended for industrial purposes. From March 1, the import ban will then also be extended to diamonds of Russian origin that have been cut and polished in other countries.
With this, the EU is closing a long-criticized loophole in the sanctions. Although European politicians have repeatedly pushed for a corresponding trade ban in recent months, there has been repeated resistance, particularly from Belgium. The country had not been in a hurry to implement an import ban in the past, as up to 30,000 jobs in Antwerp depend on the lucrative gemstone business.
The Belgian port city is one of the largest global trading hubs for gemstones. Nine out of ten rough diamonds are cut and resold here – a business worth billions. The stones come from countries like Angola, South Africa, or Canada, but also from Russia.
In Putin’s realm, the company Alrosa in Russia continues to mine the lucrative diamonds. The corporation from eastern Russia mines millions of diamonds per year and is owned by oligarch Sergey Ivanov, an old friend of Putin’s. Although the USA had already placed Ivanov on a sanctions list, the oligarch was able to continue doing business thanks to the EU. Until now, the demanded import ban had repeatedly been dropped from the negotiated sanctions packages. Only now, with the twelfth package, has this changed.
This step could indeed hit Russia hard. The revenues from diamond mining represent an important source of income in light of Russia’s financial problems. It is unclear how much of Alrosa’s estimated annual turnover of four billion euros flows into the Kremlin. But in the past, according to Die Welt, important armament projects were cross-financed with the help of Alrosa, such as the submarine “B-871 Alrosa”.
This must be a satisfaction for Kathleen Van Brempt. Although the EU parliamentarian is from Belgium, she had repeatedly advocated for a trade ban within the EU.
she had already demanded months ago in an interview with Die Welt. Because these businesses would contribute to financing and prolonging the war in Ukraine. Now she has prevailed.
