The United States allowed restrictions against diamonds mined in Russia The United States may propose to the G7 to introduce the need for importers to confirm the non-Russian origin of diamonds. Sanctions

As part of the new G7 sanctions against RUSSIA, importers may be required to confirm the non-Russian origin of diamonds, the industry publication Rapaport reports, citing a summary of the report by the HEAD of the US State Department's Sanctions Coordination Unit, James O'Brien.

The G7 includes the US, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, CANADA and Japan.

“A declaration may be required that finished diamonds imported into the US and other G7 markets were not originally mined in Russia, or other types of restrictions that apply to polished,” O'Brien said.

According to the diplomat, the West wants to make sure that the income of the largest Russian diamond mining company ALROSA, which is already under sanctions, will not be available to the authorities as a source of funding for the fighting in Ukraine.

The possibility of introducing a declaration requirement may be considered in mid-May, O'Brien said. Other possible restrictions will also be explored: for example, what sizes of stones will be subject to sanctions, the process of removing currently available diamonds from the market, etc.

In addition, the US authorities will ensure that Myanmar, which also mines precious stones and is also under US sanctions, does not help Russia bypassing restrictions in this industry.

ALROSA came under US sanctions last year. First, she was banned from raising capital through the issuance of stocks and bonds in the United States, and then the assets were blocked. Other restrictions against Russia in this area were also discussed.

For example, as REUTERS The New York Times reported, Western countries and Ukraine insisted that diamonds mined in Russia be classified as “conflict” or even “bloody”. This status, under the UN-approved Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, is given to diamonds mined in war-torn areas to fund insurgencies seeking to undermine legitimate governments.

BLOOMBERG wrote in February that the G7 countries and the EU discussed the possibility of tracking diamonds exported from Russia, but as a result, restrictions in this area were not included in the latest package of Western sanctions. In early March, the US State Department officially announced discussions with the European Commission and the diamond business on how to interrupt Russia's receipt of income from precious stones.

Russia calls the sanctions imposed against it illegitimate and believes that they should be lifted.