Russia Condemns "Far-Fetched" Claims over Conflict Diamonds
June 29, 22
(IDEX Online) - The Russian Ministry of Finance has condemned "far-fetched" accusations that diamonds are funding its invasion of Ukraine and should therefore be outlawed by the Kimberley Process.
It issued a statement insisting Russia "has always been and remains an exceptionally responsible participant of the Kimberley Process".
And it said tax and dividend payments from Russian diamond mining operations were the backbone of community development in Yakutia, in the far east of the country, where 90 per cent of its diamonds are produced.
The comments follow an unsuccessful attempt by Ukraine, the EU, the US and other KP member countries to discuss broadening the definition of conflict diamonds when delegates met last week in Botswana.
Russia, Belarus, Central African Republic (CAR) and Kyrgyzstan opposed the move, claiming it was political, and beyond the KP's remit.
Meanwhile the KP Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC), the umbrella organization that oversees KP activities, blasted the watchdog for its "silence" over the invasion of Ukraine.
And Liubov Abravitova, Ukraine's ambassador to South Africa, claimed Russian diamonds were "basically sponsoring the killings" in her country.
The Russian Ministry of Finance statement said: "The Russian Federation absolutely condemns the orchestrated attempts of KPCSC, backed by absolute minority of some Western participants, to politicize the work of the Kimberley Process by deliberately distorting or even openly replacing its basic principles."
It said that for the past 10 years all payments from diamond mining had been allocated either to Yakutian regional development or to minority shareholders, many of them in the USA and EU.
Alrosa, which produces the vast majority of Russia's diamonds, is a third-owned by the Russian government, a third by the Republic of Yakutia, and a third by private investors.
Pic shows Russia hosting Kimberley Process members in 2021.