Russian diamond exports still flowing to Belgium

Russian diamond exports still flowing to Belgium
Russia can still export diamonds to Belgium's diamond traders without restriction and exports surged a few months after the war in Ukraine began. / bne IntelliNews
By Statista November 28, 2022

Despite wide-ranging sanctions put in place against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, diamonds from the country are still flowing freely into the European Union, reports Statista.

As the chart using data from the National Bank of Belgium shows, although the trade value had decreased significantly as of August, there was a large spike recorded in June four months into the war when almost €400mn worth of diamonds were imported into Belgium from Russia.

Although Belgium is the only country in the EU to import any significant volume of diamonds from Russia, and the country itself stating it would not block a ban, pressure to add diamonds to the list of sanctions has so far been resisted despite calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who told Belgium's parliament in March that peace was worth “more than any diamonds”.

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