The European Union has approved a new package of sanctions against Russia, which includes, in particular, a ban on the import of Russian diamonds to the EU, AFP reports.

European leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels welcomed the adoption of this new package, the 12th since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The EU will also take measures to increase the effectiveness of sanctions against Russian oil. Western countries have decided to completely ban the import of Russian oil above the threshold price set at $60 per barrel.

Russia, however, managed to circumvent this measure by developing a “ghost” fleet of ships, as well as thanks to the help of China and India.

Twenty-seven also decided to extend these oil sanctions to LPG, liquefied petroleum gas, butane and propane, which are used primarily for heating.

The EU ban will affect natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry from January, and Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September 2024.

On November 15, the European Commission proposed to ban the import of diamonds and liquefied petroleum gas from Russia, as well as to strengthen the introduction of a limit on Russian oil as part of new sanctions against Moscow.

The ban on diamond imports was put back on the sanctions list after the proposal was rejected by Belgium

The EU has tried for months to ban imports of the precious stones, but has always clashed with Belgium, home to the world’s largest diamond trading hub, Antwerp, which has lobbied for the EU not to act on its own to ban Russian diamonds.

Belgium has expressed its reluctance to these sanctions adopted by the G7 member states and has proposed a solution, particularly through a labeling system, to make the sanctions effective without harming its own diamond industry, which thrives in Antwerp (north-west Belgium). .

The EU proposal aimed to ban direct imports of diamonds from Russia from January 1, 2024, and introduce a tracking mechanism in March that would prevent imports of Russian gems processed in third countries.

The tracking mechanism must be agreed with the G7 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Thus, from January 2024, the EU ban applies to natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry, and from September – to Russian diamonds cut in other countries.

Moscow is accused of financing part of its military campaign against Ukraine thanks to the lucrative diamond trade, which amounts to 4-5 billion dollars a year, AFP reports, writes Agerpres.