G7 leaders have agreed to limit imports of Russian diamonds from next year as part of tightening sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the leaders said in a statement, AFP reported.
"We will introduce restrictions on imports of rough diamonds mined, processed or manufactured in Russia by January 1, 2024," the leaders said after a virtual summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This will be "followed by further phased restrictions on imports of Russian diamonds processed in third countries, targeting March 1, 2024," they said.
By early September, a "robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds within the G-7 framework" will be in place, they added.
The new restrictions add to a raft of sanctions already imposed on Russia by the US and other countries over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with previous targets including financial institutions, technology imports and energy exports. /BGNES
