Diamond Sanctions are "Hardly News", says Russia
December 10, 23
(IDEX Online) - Vladimir Putin's press secretary has dismissed G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds as "hardly news".
Dmitry Peskov (pictured) told reporters that Russian companies had been preparing for introduction of Western sanctions against its diamonds that were announced last Wednesday (6 December).
"The sanctions on diamonds are hardly news," he said, according to a report by Tass, the state-run news agency. "And, correspondingly, our companies in this sector are well aware of the risk they face. And, of course, they seek to hedge these risks."
Last month Peskov insisted countries that boycotted Russian gems would suffer more than Russia itself.
"As a rule, it turns out that a boomerang effect is partially triggered: the interests of the Europeans themselves suffer," he said. "So far, we have been able to find ways to minimise the negative consequences of sanctions."
The G7 nations - US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, plus the 27 nations of the EU - jointly account for 70 per cent of the world's diamond sales.
They announced that import restrictions will take effect from 1 January 2024 on all non-industrial diamonds, mined, processed, or produced in Russia, to be followed by a ban on diamonds processed outside Russia from 1 March 2024.
A "robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds" will be implemented by 1 September, 2024, though it is not yet clear which one of four proposed methods will be adopted.