1.   A flood of Russian gems on the market has resulted in decreased profits for De Beers, the South African mining giant said Tuesday.

2.   Gokhran controls lucrative exports of Russian gems and precious metals.

3.   Sales of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Russian gems in breach of the exclusive accord have dented confidence in the industry in the past two years.

4.   During the negotiations, the CSO has continued to buy Russian gems under the expired contract.