Rishi Sunak also reveals measures against 86 people and companies from key energy, metals and shipping markets
Rishi Sunak will announce new sanctions on Russian diamonds and metals as part of an effort to intensify pressure on President Putin.
The prime minister will use the first day of the G7 summit of world leaders in Japan on Friday to argue that the world must “redouble support for Ukraine’s defence”.
He will link the meeting in Hiroshima to the war in Ukraine, saying that the gathering in “a city that exemplifies both the horrors of war and the dividends of peace” shows how important it is to “defend the values of freedom, democracy and tolerance, both in Ukraine and here in the Indo-Pacific.”
The action on diamonds will be followed by sanctions on 86 new people and companies “from Putin’s military-industrial complex”. They will focus on entities related to Russia’s “key revenue streams” of energy, metals and shipping.
Each of the other G7 nations is expected to announce a wave of similar sanctions on Russia over the course of the summit, almost a decade after Russia was expelled from the group over its annexation of Crimea.
As well as diamonds, the UK is banning the import of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.
Russia’s rough diamond exports were worth $5 billion in 2021 and about 40 per cent of diamonds come out of mines operated by Alrosa, a mining company two-thirds owned by the Russian state. The G7 nations hope that limiting the Russian state’s access to the proceeds of the mining trade will impede Putin’s war effort.
Rishi Sunak said the sanctions show the G7 remains united against Russia’s threat to Ukraine
Russia is the largest producer of diamonds in the world but the vast majority of its exports are cut and polished in other countries, most notably India and Belgium.
Belgium, where the diamond industry supports 10,000 jobs in Antwerp alone, imported $1.8 billion of Russian diamonds in 2021 and has been lobbying against sanctions but has recently softened its stance.
On the first day of the summit, Sunak will visit the site of the A-bomb dome at the Hiroshima Peace Park, which commemorates the atomic bomb dropped in 1945. He will attend sessions on Ukraine, international co-operation, Indo-Pacific security policy and nuclear non-proliferation.
Speaking before the summit, which runs until Sunday, Sunak said: “For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards.
“As today’s sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine.
“We are meeting today in Hiroshima, a city that exemplifies both the horrors of war and the dividends of peace. We must redouble our efforts to defend the values of freedom, democracy and tolerance, both in Ukraine and here in the Indo-Pacific.”
The UK has sanctioned more than 130 oligarchs with a net worth of £140 billion since the war began. In total, 1,550 Russians are subject to travel bans and asset freezes.
Efforts to cripple the Russian economy have been undermined by the willingness of countries including India and China to buy oil and gas from Moscow at discounted rates.
Western officials believe, however, that the sanctions are hindering the Russian war effort by making it more difficult for Moscow to import goods such as computer chips, which are vital in the production of missiles.
On Thursday evening Sunak had dinner with Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, at which they signed the Hiroshima accord, a pact designed to contain Chinese aggression in the region.
Sunak was wearing the socks of the baseball team supported by Kishida as the pair joked about their sporting loyalties.
In keeping with Japanese custom, Sunak had to remove his shoes, revealing Hiroshima Toyo Carp socks.
“I hope your baseball team has had a better season than my football team, who have had a very bad season,” he said. Sunak supports Southampton, who are bottom of the Premier League and will be relegated at the end of the season.
Source: The Times
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