the European Union officially adopts a new package of sanctions against Russia

This section of sanctions, the twelfth, includes in particular the ban on imports of Russian diamonds.

On Monday, December 18, the European Union adopted a twelfth package of sanctions against Russia in response to its attempted invasion of Ukraine. EU countries had already approved it on Friday, on the sidelines of a European summit, but it could not be formally adopted due to a reservation from Austria, which has now been lifted.

This package of sanctions includes in particular the ban on imports of Russian diamonds into the EU. The ban will affect natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry from January, and Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September 2024.

The EU also decided to add 29 new entities to the list of those accused of supporting the Russian war effort. They are all subject to restrictions on their exports of products likely to strengthen Russia’s arms industry. Some of these entities, involved in circumventing sanctions, come from third countries, Singapore and Uzbekistan in particular, according to a press release from the European Commission.

Diamonds, a lucrative business for Moscow

This is the twelfth package of sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. “We continue to support Ukraine through thick and thin”said on this occasion on X (ex-Twitter) the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed their adoption, saying that Russia must “feeling that the pressure of the free world is increasing, as is the cost of its aggression”. Moscow is accused of financing part of its war against Ukraine through the lucrative diamond trade, which represents a turnover of around four to five billion dollars per year.