Transparency International urges EU sanctions on Russian diamonds, miner Alrosa

FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are pictured during an official presentation by diamond producer Alrosa in Moscow, Russia Ferbuary 13, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should bar Russian diamond imports and blacklist diamond miner Alrosa and its head Sergei Ivanov, Transparency International told Reuters on Monday, as the 27-nation bloc prepares new sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Galvanised by Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing a partial military mobilisation and issuing a thinly veiled nuclear threat to the West, EU countries were quick to say last week that they will respond with new sanctions.