Canada has announced restrictions on imports of Russian diamonds and related jewellery in coordination with its G7 partners.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated that the implementation of this ban in cooperation with G7 partners sends a clear message to Russia that they will not tolerate the use of Russian diamond revenues to finance the war.

"We call on President Putin to immediately put an end to this unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine, and we will continue to stand by Ukrainians for as long as it takes," Joly said. 

The statement said that Ottawa will continue to work with the G7 countries and other international partners to implement comprehensive controls and verification measures to ban Russian diamonds.

Earlier, following a virtual summit on 6 December, the G7 countries announced their intention to impose restrictions on Russian-produced diamonds by 1 January 2024.

By 1 September 2024, the G7 countries, which are the main importers of rough diamonds, will create a mechanism for verifying and certifying rough diamonds and will consult with producing countries and partners on this issue, the leaders added.

The EU has previously said that it also intends to impose sanctions against diamonds of Russian origin, but is waiting for a G7 decision that would explain how such a ban would work.

It is known that sanctions against Russian diamonds were discussed with the G7 by Belgium, a member of the European Union, which has one of the world's largest diamond trading centres in Antwerp. 

According to estimates, exports of diamonds and polished diamonds bring the Kremlin €4 billion a year.