the UK Prime Minister has unveiled new sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting imports of diamonds and other minerals in a bid to choke Moscow’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine.
Rishi Sunak has said he wants to ensure “Russia pays a price” for the war in Ukraine, after announcing new sanctions targeting Russian exports.
He said he hoped other countries would follow suit.
Russian diamond imports to the UK are among the items that will be banned by the government.
The Russian diamond industry was worth $4bn (£3.2bn) in exports in 2021.
Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel imports will also be blocked, under legislation to be introduced later this year.
Before a G7 summit in Japan began, London said it would introduce “a ban on Russian diamonds”, copper, aluminium and nickel, and sanction more entities involved in Moscow’s “military industrial complex”.
Later in the day, the UK foreign office said the new sanctions would freeze the assets of 86 people and organisations.
These include “companies connected to theft of Ukrainian grain, and those involved in shipment of Russian energy”, it said.
The new sanctions will also target “advanced military technology and remaining revenue sources”.
The summit in Hiroshima is expected to bring a series of new sanctions on Russia — including US measures that will put 70 more Russian and foreign entities on a trade blacklist.
The G7 as a whole is expected to work to tighten existing sanctions, close loopholes, squeeze Moscow’s access to the international financial system and commit to keeping Russian assets frozen until the end of the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, European Council President Charles Michel said the bloc would target the lucrative trade in Russian diamonds, which he joked “are not forever”.
EU member Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with India and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States is a major end-market for the finished product.
