Albright reassures Botswana on diamond sales

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Monday sought to calm Botswana’s fears that efforts to stop exports of African “conflict diamonds” might cripple the southern African state’s economy, Reuters said on Monday. “They wanted to make sure that the international efforts that they’re working with wouldn’t end up constraining their legitimate sales and the secretary was able to reassure them working with this process to certify legitimate diamonds would not in any way impinge on their sales,” a US official was quoted as saying. Albright told a news conference she had discussed the issue with the president. “We understand the seriousness of it and also the importance of clean diamonds to the economy of Botswana,” she said. “We support the Kimberley process of certification to make clear which diamonds are the ones that are legitimate sources of income for economies and which are the ones that help fuel conflict.”