The embargo, proposed by Belgium where the city of Antwerp is the world’s No. 1 one diamond trading hub, will come into effect in January, one of the government officials, who asked not to be named, told reporters in Brussels.
If the ban on the multi-million dollar trade is announced as anticipated, this would lead to a split in the global diamond market as the G7 accounts for close to 40% of this market.
“We’re talking about restructuring a global market” the official said, acknowledging that the system will not work perfectly right away and the G7 was still evaluating Belgium’s proposed plan.
“Russia is the biggest supplier globally. With this system, we are cutting them out, leaving them in an inferior market with lower prices. We are slashing the financial flows from this sector.”
Efforts to reduce Russia’s revenue from diamond exports and build on Washington’s existing sanctions on Russia’s Alrosa ALRS.MM, the world’s largest producer, have been under discussion among leaders of the G7 since last year.
The EU bought 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) worth of Russian diamonds last year, according to Eurostat, as it banned neither the gem imports nor blacklisted Alrosa.
The EU has previously floated a ban of its own but Belgium was concerned that this would divert trading to other centres and away from Antwerp. Further, the EU on its own only accounts for 15% of the global market
