Group of Seven nations have agreed to ban Russian diamond imports from the start of next year in the latest move to curb Russia’s ability to fund its invasion of Ukraine. While the G7 and its European allies have been trying to find additional ways to squeeze Russia’s economy to constrain its ability to fund its war in Ukraine, diamonds have remained a stumbling block. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Earlier attempts to sanction Russian gems in Europe had met resistance from leading importer nations like Belgium, which had argued that a simple ban would just shift the lucrative gem trade elsewhere. Read More: Why Sanctions on Russia Won’t Work The G7 said Wednesday that it will ban all imports of rough diamonds directly from Russia from Jan.