G7 is about to put Russian diamonds in its "sights"?

Russia's rough diamonds are mainly exported to India. (Source: Reuters)

The above information was given by an official of the European Union (EU) on May 18.

"You can expect this to be mentioned in the G7 joint communique," an EU official told reporters at a press conference.

The official said there would be no agreement on the restrictions at this stage, but he believed the principles would be agreed before implementation.

Currently, Russia's rough diamonds are mainly exported to India, where they are believed to be polished and possibly mixed with diamonds from elsewhere for sale in Western countries. Therefore, the G7 is discussing measures to use technology to trace the original origin of each diamond.

In March 2023, the US and EU pledged to continue imposing economic sanctions on Russia, saying the country was still making billions of dollars from the diamond trade.