According to reports, De Beers may be able to continue purchasing diamonds from Alrosa despite the European Union ban as the Russian miner plans to offload 80 per cent of its output in Moscow, according to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti.

The paper’s commentary says the Moscow “floor” is not subject to European legislation and hence the European Commission’s embargo, which calls on De Beers to end rough diamond purchases from Alrosa starting in 2009, may not apply.

Vedomosti quotes Alrosa's president, Sergei Vybornov, as saying “Russia is not a member of the European Union and the diamond trading floor in Moscow will not be regulated by European legislation.” He said that up to 80 per cent of the company's diamonds could be sold in Moscow, with the rest distributed among its foreign offices to monitor the market of one-off sales.

“There are legal ways to give De Beers an opportunity to continue buying Alrosa's diamonds, if it wants to,” he told Vedomosti.