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Brussels: G7 countries will this week discuss four plans to ban Russian diamonds from their markets, laying bare differences that explain why a ban has been so difficult to agree for more than a year.

The four proposals were prepared by Belgium, India, a French jewellery industry group and the World Diamond Council and will be discussed at a technical meeting of representatives from the Group of Seven on Thursday, officials close to the talks said.

A cut diamond in a quality control unit at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre in Antwerp, Belgium. G7 nations want to curb the import of Russian stones.Credit: Bloomberg

A G7 ban would hit Russian diamond exports badly because the countries – United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy and France – account for 70 per cent of global diamond demand.

But it would also hit supply because Russia is the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds, accounting for 30 per cent of them.

The main task of the meeting will be to agree in a legally sound way on a definition of traceability of diamonds, to be able to determine where the stones come from. Documents seen by Reuters show the proposals vary in strength from light-touch self-regulation to strict import measures.

“Part of the reason we are stalled is that … it’s an indirect ban – it’s on Russian diamonds coming [into G7] from outside Russia. It’s more complicated. There’s tension between keeping momentum with a political statement first or whether the technicals need to be decided in full first,” one of the sources familiar with discussions asking not be named said.

“In November we absolutely need to clear things up if we want to meet the January 1 start,” the source said, adding that if a model was picked that required government controls then it would take longer to push through legislation.

Agreement is tough because the details of a ban could boost or deteriorate business conditions for some of the world’s major diamond centres in Belgium, India, or the United States and their share of the global $US87 billion ($138 billion) natural diamond jewellery business.

The main differences between the proposals include where the diamonds enter the G7 markets, how their origin would be verified, what weight thresholds would trigger restrictions and what consequences there would be for breaking the rules.

Residential apartment blocks for workers stand beyond a Russian orthodox church near the Udachny diamond mine operated by OAO Alrosa in Udachny, Russia.Credit: Getty

India and Belgium want the entry point to be their own diamond centres in Mumbai and the Antwerp respectively, France’s group wants multiple entry points to prevent bottlenecks and WDC wants a more self-regulating system. The weight threshold for the gems could be 1 carat or more for polished stones.

Belgium sees its reputation at stake and wants to make sure Russian gems do not circulate and fears getting stung by scandal later. It sees tracing and technology-based checks on rough diamonds as essential and best done at its Antwerp hub that already has robust requirements.

India fears putting too much of an onus on its small and medium-sized producers if a harsher model is adopted. India’s federal Trade Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“There are intense G7 technical calls on the traceability mechanism taking place now. We hope there can be a public announcement soon,” a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter said.

The European Union and the G7 have been looking at a Russian diamond ban since 2022 as part of sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The US has already imposed sanctions on Russia’s state-owned diamond producer Alrosa, but without a global ban, it seems to be little affected – in the first half of this year it had revenue of $US1.9 billion and dividends of $US282 million.

After Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, major jewellers, such as American brand Tiffany’s, said they would no longer buy Russian diamonds.

But without the cooperation of India, where most of the world’s stones are cut, or without Belgium, whose city of Antwerp is the world’s biggest diamonds trading centre, it’s impossible to make sure that gems circulating between them and Dubai or Tel Aviv are not of Russian origin.

A model displays the “Sky Blue Diamond”, a fancy vivid blue 8.01 carat jewel of imperial Russian heritage in Geneva, Switzerland.Credit: AP

With all the global players involved, discussions have been slow even though diamonds, along with nuclear and liquefied natural gas, are among the few remaining significant revenue streams for Moscow that Western powers have not yet imposed full sanctions upon.

Reuters

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