Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s video address at the Belgian Federal Parliament included a comment on Antwerp’s continuing import of diamonds. Other than repeatedly requesting for a no-fly zone over his country, Zelensky took aim at the continued import of Russian diamonds to the Belgian port of Antwerp.

Eighty –six percent of all rough diamonds mined worldwide are traded in Antwerp. The port is one of the most important gateways to the world for sourcing Russian diamonds. So far, diamond imports from Russia to the EU have not been targeted by the bloc’s sanctions.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy lamented as he spoke through a French translator, “There are people for whom Russian diamonds sold in Antwerp are more important. “People for whom accepting Russian ships in their ports, and for whom the income from these ships is more important than our struggles! I believe that peace is way more valuable than diamonds, than the deals sealed with Russia, than the Russian ships (allowed) in ports, than Russian oil and gas. Help us. Do it, with weapons, sanctions, and the possibility to become members of the European Union.”