EU to discuss sanctions against Russia's diamond industry at G7 summit

An EU official said this today in Brussels, before the G7 summit, which will be chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The EU official said that in terms of sanctions, the focus will be on preventing their circumvention. Diamonds will also be an important topic in the coming months. We can expect it to be reflected in the final communiqué of the summit. Brussels will not present formal proposals yet, as it cannot impose such sanctions on its own. This must be discussed with partners, as was the case with imposing price restrictions on Russian energy.

He noted that the ability to trace the origin of diamonds remains an important issue for the EU, as other countries, in addition to Russia, are involved in their production.

The source noted that the EU intends to limit exports of diamonds produced in Russia and its trade in this sector. But there are other important players in this market, such as India, for which this industry is important, including from a political point of view. The position of countries like the UK, the U.S., Italy, and Germany should also be considered. Such actions should be taken with caution, especially in the context of continued diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine.

The EU official noted that the Group of Seven members could also make a separate statement on nuclear safety and Russian nuclear energy. He clarified that the 11th package of restrictive measures against Russia, which is being worked on at the level of member states, will not include sanctions against the Russian nuclear energy sector.

The EU official said that the EU is consistently reducing its dependence on Russian energy, which certainly includes nuclear energy. This issue is not included in the 11th sanctions package because there are other ways to achieve this goal, and not only sanctions. The member states are consistently working to achieve greater independence from such energy, and the sanctions regime cannot do that. For example, countries like Hungary and Finland are taking steps to distance themselves from Rosatom.

As previously reported, the 49th summit of the Group of Seven will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to 21 this year. The previous meeting was held in Germany in June 2022. This year, the European Union will be represented at the G7 meeting by President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The Japanese presidency identified global economic resilience and economic security as the main topic for this meeting, in particular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global consequences of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.