Western Attempts to Hinder Russian Diamond Exports Contradict Industry Interests: Moscow

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Western countries’ attempts to interfere with Russian diamond exports may lead to disruption of supply chains, which runs counter to the interests of the industry as a whole, Dmitry Birichevsky, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's economic cooperation department, told Sputnik.

"It is clear that the restrictive measures that are being developed, whatever they may be, risk disrupting established supply chains and thus inimical to the interests of the diamond industry as a whole. In this regard, Westerners are trying to provide a plausible pretext for their irresponsible actions, including on various international platforms," Birichevsky said.

Russia is one of the largest diamond industry players, accounting for 30% of world production, the official noted.

"At the same time, Russian manufacturers are exceptionally responsible market participants, whose activities not only meet, but often exceed international standards and are in many ways a model for others," Birichevsky said.

He noted that opponents should be aware that any attempts to prevent Russian diamond exports are non-market oriented.

"For our part, we consistently counter attempts to deliberately distort the foundations and principles of the relevant multilateral formats that determine the functioning of the global diamond market. It is encouraging that a vast majority of industry representatives share our approaches," Birichevsky added.

Earlier this month, top US and European Commission officials met with diamond industry leaders to discuss ways to cut-off billions in revenue to Russia.

In February, the Group of Seven (G7) countries agreed to further sanction the Russian diamond industry in an attempt to slash Russian revenues amid Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine. The G7 said in a joint statement that they would engage key partners on further measures on Russian diamonds, including rough and polished ones.

On Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he expected the European Union's 11th package of sanctions to target Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Russian diamonds.