Belgium does not intend to impose sanctions against Russian diamonds before the beginning of 2024, TASS reports, citing a statement by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
According to the European official, a ban on the import of diamonds is possible only if there is a mechanism for tracking their origin. However, at the moment such a mechanism is not in effect yet, its launch is scheduled for January 1, 2024. "If this ban is imposed only by Belgium, diamonds will simply go to other markets," De Croo said.
One of the solutions includes the introduction of tracking schemes to prevent the re-labeling of Russian diamonds in third countries and evasion of sanctions. This will make it possible to control the entire value chain. For this purpose, instruments to analyze the probable geographical origin of the diamond are used.
Currently, Spacecode is engaged in their development, but the launch of prototypes is scheduled for late 2023 - early 2024.
At the same time, some of the EU and G7 countries (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the USA) announced the introduction of a ban on diamond exports in May 2023.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
