According to the Belgian newspaper L’Echo, the tenth package of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia, which is anticipated to be released on February 24, will not include a restriction on the import of diamonds from Russia.
Polish and Baltic-led “hawks” in Europe want to include Russia’s diamond industry on the sanctions list at any cost.
According to the Belgian business newspaper, Belgium is still opposed to this behind the scenes and offers to develop a method for tracing the origin of rough diamonds as an alternative.
According to L’Echo, Kiev’s authorities demand that Brussels include Russian diamonds on the list whenever the European Union discusses a new set of sanctions against Russia.
However, the Antwerp diamond industry, which is the world’s largest center of trade in rough diamonds and diamonds, is making every effort to prevent this step to prevent the collapse of the Antwerp diamond industry.