A new drama is unfolding over another of Russia's major exports: diamonds.
Russia is the biggest supplier of small diamonds. For a long time, engagement rings, earrings and pendants for sale in the United States and beyond have included diamonds mined from deep in the permafrost in Russia's northeast.
The United States and other countries are taking action that could officially label Russian diamonds as "conflict diamonds", claiming their sale helps pay for Russia's deadly aggression in Ukraine.
The same state that is conducting a premeditated, unprovoked, and unwarranted war is benefiting from the production's proceeds.
The European Union, Canada and other Western nations, as well as Ukraine and several activist organizations, have joined in the call for a discussion about the implications of the invasion of Ukraine.
Conflict diamonds are gems used to finance war. Rough diamonds are defined as diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict in order to undermine legitimate government.
Sign up for the Climate Forward newsletter Your must-read guide to the climate crisis.Russia is not accurately described as a rebel movement and officials object to being labeled a conflict gem. The press service of Russia's Ministry of Finance stated that the effort by Western governments to do so was political demagogy.
Western nations are looking for long-term alternatives to their dependence on fossil fuels as a result of Russia's actions in Ukranian. Revenues from Russia's other big exports, such as diamonds, have gained new global relevance as countries look to punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
According to U.S. government data, the gems are one of Russia's top non-energy exports.
Russian diamonds have been popular with American jewelers for a long time due to the fact that consumers could confuse blood diamonds with Russian diamonds. The debate over Russian diamonds is exposing an often overlooked reality about the effort to rein in the murky $80 billion global diamond industry, which has spent years working to assure people that its gems are trustworthy.
Many jewelers admit that ethical diamonds don't really exist because of loopholes. That fact is underscored by the attempt to block Russian diamonds. The price list used by a leading diamond broker is used as a benchmark for the wholesale trade in polished diamonds.
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In Britain, the heat is extreme. Without the influence of human-caused climate change, a heat wave that destroyed records in Britain in July would not have been possible.
Russia's officials say the country's diamonds were in line with environmental, social and governance standards before they became trendy in the corporate world. They say Russian mines contribute to the economy in a desolate part of the country that is otherwise poor.
Russia's finance ministry said in an email that diamond money has paved roads, built schools and hospitals. One million people of Yakutia depend on the stability of diamond mining.
The diamonds contributed to Russia's invasion.
According to the deputy director of the State Gemmological Center of Ukraine, Russian diamonds are involved in financing the war of the Russian Federation against the Ukrainians.
Western officials are standing next to the Ukrainians.
The United States added the CEO of Alrosa, Russia's biggest diamond producer and the world's largest diamond mining company, to its sanctions list on the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The son of a close ally of the president was added to the sanctions list.
Russian diamonds were banned by the U.S.
The US action only applied to Russian rough diamonds that had yet to be cut and shined. Only a small amount of rough diamonds from Russia make it to the US market.
Diamonds are shipped abroad after being pulled from the ground. There is no ban on Russian diamonds in India. The origin of the diamonds changes as they are prepared for shipping. Diamonds mined in Russia are no longer Russian- origin.
Major jewelers started boycotts of Russian diamonds. The gems are traced through the supply chain.
The U.S. went after the mining giant Alrosa, which is majority-owned by the Russian government. It banned U.S. citizens from doing business with it. Similar actions were taken by Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the Bahamas.
Critics said the ban didn't close the loophole and left open the possibility that Alrosa's subsidiaries could still get diamonds that are cut and polished abroad into the U.S.
According to the U.S., Alrosa is responsible for 90 percent of Russia's diamond mining capacity. It was a hit for a company that five years ago had launched a new marketing campaign in America, hoping its Russian identity would be a bonus in a nation where savvy consumers were wary of atrocities in diamond mining.
The company said in an email that it has a strong focus on environmental and social issues. A park to protect reindeer and other wildlife is one of the things highlighted on its website.
Ahead of the group's scheduled meeting in June, there was a debate over Russian Diamonds. The U.S. and other Western countries were trying to find out if Russia was exporting conflict diamonds or if it was the leader of the organization.
Russia had been pushing for an expansion of the definition of conflict diamonds to include issues such as human rights, labor and the environment for a long time. The movement has stopped because the organization is governed by consensus.
Tensions over Russian diamonds split the Kimberley Process member countries along familiar lines, with many Western nations fighting against Russia, which was supported by China and other countries.
Hans Merket, a diamond industry and human rights researcher whose organization is part of civil society membership in the Kimberley Process, said that the process has less to do with diamonds than it used to be.
The discussions about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the Kimberley Process ended after vetoes by Russia and China. Journalists were asked to leave sessions they normally would be allowed to attend, some participants said, and talks with the organization's chairman became tangled in disputes over whether Russia should participate. The US and British representatives did not attend the sessions.
Mr. Merket said that the group had become an organ of bureaucrats who sign off on diamonds that are problematic yet get endorsements that are false. He said that consumers expected something that wasn't true.
He and other participants were frustrated by the meeting and worried that important work was being overlooked.
Russian mercenaries have been accused of violating human rights in the Central African Republic, where they operate in the diamond industry. There have been reports of violence in diamond mines in Brazil and Venezuela. There are allegations of violence at mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kimberley Process is defended within the jewelry industry, where businesses are handed down for generations.
The president of the World Diamond Council said that the world is not a perfect place. Mr. Asscher said he believed that 99 percent of diamonds were conflict-free.
There is tension over Russian diamonds that could affect the work at the meeting. The European Union's foreign affairs and security policy states that the Kimberley Process can't stay silent after a military aggression.
At a gathering of diamond industry leaders in New York last month, tensions were so high that jewelers and traders who had worked with Russian counterparts were now in the uncomfortable position of not buying diamonds.
Most of the people in attendance agreed that the industry needed reform.
While acknowledging the system had flaws, a leader in the U.S. diamond industry said that all diamonds in the country are ethical. He said it depended on what your definition of ethical was.
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