Designed to curtail Russia's access to revenues, metals, and technology sustaining its war effort, the sanctions were finalized last Friday by envoys from the 27 EU member countries. The formal adoption faced a brief objection from Austria, subsequently lifted.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen affirmed, "We continue to stand with Ukraine, through thick and thin."
The EU's ban on Russian diamonds encompasses both natural and synthetic varieties, as well as jewelry, effective from January. Russian diamonds cut in other countries will face the ban from September next year.
Moscow is accused of accumulating funds for its war chest through diamond sales, estimated at $4 billion to $5 billion annually.
Belgium, home to a major diamond trading hub in Antwerp, overcame initial reservations following a G7 decision supporting the ban. The diamond industry has proposed various solutions, including a tracking system, to mitigate the impact of sanctions on the business.
The sanctions package extends EU efforts to limit Moscow's access to military-use technology, adding 29 companies to the list of entities prohibited from exporting products aiding Russia's arms industry.
Some of these companies, located outside the EU, are suspected of evading the bloc's sanctions, as per a European Council statement.
Certain countries, such as Kazakhstan, are accused of assisting Russia in importing specific products and technologies that can bolster its military industry.
Russia has been able to sidestep that measure by building a “dark fleet” of oil tankers, and also with the help of China and India, a researcher at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Alexandra Prokopenko, recently revealed.
The EU countries agreed a “strengthened information sharing mechanism” for tankers designed to identify ships involved in practices such as ship-to-ship oil transfers at sea, the European Council statement
