Starving the Russian state of the revenues it needs to pursue the invasion of Ukraine has focused mostly on oil and gas.
Alrosa has been placed on US and UK sanctions lists, but it has yet to be sanctioned by the EU. Ivanov Jr, also a board member of Gazprombank, has been named in US sanctions. "Alrosa is one company that not just ships rough diamonds to Antwerp," says Belgian Socialist MEP Kathleen Van Brempt,"but it also uses the revenues, clearly, for military purposes. These are blood diamonds, as we had blood diamonds from Africa."
"Industry and political interests are very intertwined because it's an important sector for Belgium, and Russian diamonds are globally very important. One quarter of the diamond market in Antwerp is Alrosa." The AWDC, which declined to speak to RTÉ for this article, has argued that closing down those shipments would simply force Russia to sell to rival diamond hubs in Dubai and Mumbai - trading centres which, they say, have far less exacting ethical standards.
"While it certifies all these diamonds as conflict-free, it’s a very narrow definition of conflict," says Merket."That has become a problem for Antwerp and all diamond centres in the world." Preventing the sale of Alrosa diamonds on the world market, and closing off a valuable revenue stream, would require a comprehensive sanctions package applied globally.
"But it's good to look at that balance, when you clearly see a connection between a Russian company, rough diamonds and military spending."
tconnellyRTE Antwerp has even closer links to the Israeli diamond industry which is a major source of funding for apartheid and warcrimes. Palestinians have been calling for a ban on Israeli blood diamonds for over decade but this goes largely unreported BDS
tconnellyRTE Stopping trade in Russian polished diamonds is 'clearly' impossible. How could you tell their provenance? Would many diamantaires decline discounted stones?
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