EUROPE

Russia Denies Breaking De Beers Deal: Russia, anxious to make the best possible use of its own resources, has sold industrial diamonds on world markets but has not breached a deal with South African giant De Beers, a top industry official said. Leonid Gurevich, deputy head of the Russian Precious Metals Committee, said Russia had no intention of breaking its contract with De Beers, under which 95% of its rough gem diamond output is sold through De Beers’ Central Selling Organization. De Beers said this week that Russian diamonds worth between $40 million and $80 million had “leaked” onto the Antwerp market without going via the CSO. A CSO spokesman blamed the Precious Metals Committee for unregulated sales of diamonds.