Russia seeks to lift CAR diamond embargo

Russia says it backs lifting an embargo on diamond exports from the CAR ahead of a global meeting to regulate the gem trade. A report on the News24 site notes that it has made moves to strengthen its influence in the poor nation, sending military instructors to the country and receiving mining concessions as part of a plan to boost its presence in Africa. Moscow next year will chair the Kimberley Process, a global scheme established in 2003 to eliminate the so-called ‘blood diamonds’ produced in rebel-controlled areas. The report notes that it upholds an embargo for rough diamond exports from some regions of the CAR. However, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said the system was not working, adding that exports from all regions of the CAR ‘should be made legal’. ‘The current bans are unfair to poor people who can only earn money by (diamond mining),’ he said, adding that Russia believes diamonds from banned ‘red zones’ still find their way onto the market.