OREANDA-NEWS Belgium imported a batch of industrial diamonds from Russia in February, after a three-month break, according to RIA Novosti's analysis of data from the European Statistical Service.

At the end of winter, Belgium imported 25 kilograms of industrial diamonds worth 197 thousand euros, which was the first shipment since October and the largest since April. Last year, Belgium purchased industrial diamonds from Russia worth 3 million euros.

On December 18, the European Union, in collaboration with the "Seven" countries, banned the import of Russian rough diamonds from January 1st, 2024 as part of the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. However, with the exception of Belgium, these countries were not significant buyers of Russian diamonds in 2022. According to previous reports from the agency, they accounted for less than 1% of Russian diamond exports.