The Western countries have taken steps against Russian precious stones because "proceeds from that [diamond] production are benefiting the same state that is conducting a premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war," a US State Department official, George Cajati, said in a letter to the Kimberley Process organization, as cited by the New York Times.
The Kimberley Process was established in 2000 by a United Nations resolution to prevent the flow of "conflict" or "blood" diamonds, which have been illegally mined and the proceeds from the sale of which are used to finance regional conflicts and terrorist groups.
During the Kimberley Process meeting in Botswana in June, the issue of Russian diamonds was discussed, but no tangible results were achieved after the process was blocked by Russia, China, and Belarus, the newspaper reported. After that the participants began to dispute whether Russia should take part in the sessions, but in any case all decisions in the organization must be unanimously adopted by all 80 member countries.
According to the report, the US has banned the import of Russian rough diamonds as soon as Russia began its special operation in Ukraine, but there is a loophole in the US law: the ban only includes rough gems, which change their country of origin after undergoing transformation. Russian diamonds still enter the US, because Russia ships its gems to India for polishing, so they become of Indian origin, the New York Times explained.
The attempts of Western countries to label Russian diamonds as "bloody" are yet to succeed. The Russian Ministry of Finance told the New York Times that these attempts are nothing but "a political demagogy," adding that diamond proceeds have financed the development of social infrastructure of the country.