According to the minister of external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Group of Seven’s ban on Russian diamonds will affect India more than any other country. He told major business players in Gujarat on April 1, 2024, that Indian politicians will try to negotiate the new diamond policy with the EU leaders, seeking to mitigate the sanctions. Jaishankar highlighted the urgency of the issue and reassured the public the solution would be reached in a few days.
He went on to say that sanctions will affect first and foremost the Group of Seven countries themselves, including France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the US, and the European Union, but India will take a hard blow nonetheless because of its heavy reliance on Russian products.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal are negotiating with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo and other EU officials to mitigate the sanctions’ potential detrimental effects on the Indian economy.
The ban on Russian diamonds was enforced exactly one month before Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s speech and applies to all stones equal to or bigger than 1 carat. The sanctions are imposed on all diamonds regardless of the processing technique or lack thereof. Before March 2024, it was legal to import Russian diamonds that were polished in other countries, however, the current legislation has fixed this loophole as it targets specifically the stones sourced in Russia.
