2023-10-22 14:41:52
Blood diamonds
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After months of procrastination, the European Union is finally preparing to follow in the footsteps of the United States, with the aim of reducing Moscow’s export revenues.
In an interview with Libération in February, Russian opponent Vladimir Milov, exiled in Lithuania, urged Europeans to “reduce the Kremlin’s export revenues as much as possible by sanctioning Russian diamonds in particular. Like the nuclear or liquefied natural gas sector, not sanctioned by Western powers, diamonds are an important source of income for Moscow, estimated between 3 and 5 billion dollars per year.
“This money is a lifeline, in terms of currency, for the Kremlin,” insisted the economist. Above all, it is blood money: it directly finances the Russian military industry, which uses it to bring death and destruction to the people of Ukraine.” After months of procrastination, the European Union is finally preparing to sanction these “blood diamonds”. Following in the footsteps of the United States, and allowing the G7 to have a coherent and global approach. And for sanctions to be, perhaps, more effective.
Russia, the world’s largest diamond exporter
The day after the Russian invasion, in the spring of 2022, the United States, the world’s largest market for finished diamonds, banned the import of rough diamonds from Russia. The Treasury Department also imposes s
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