MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Russian company Alrosa occupies a leading position in the global diamond production market during the coronavirus pandemic, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday during a meeting with the company’s CEO Sergey Ivanov.

"Amid the pandemic, the jewelry industry and its base - the diamond mining [industry] - found themselves in a very difficult situation, I mean the world production at the moment. Many of your competitors have practically stopped production, are laying off their employees, and in large numbers, on the brink of bankruptcy themselves," Putin said.

According to Putin, "Alrosa is the largest diamond mining enterprise in the country, it has now become the largest in the world".

Ivanov said that Alrosa expects to shortly negotiate procurement of raw diamonds to the State Precious Metals and Gems Depository with the Russian Finance Ministry.

"We are discussing now the potential procurement of raw diamonds into the State Precious Metals and Gems Depositary of the Russian Federation jointly with the Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation. We are confident there that we will achieve all the final agreements in the near future," Ivanov said.

Such a deal during the crisis of 2008 enabled the company to stabilize the social situation and help the budget of Yakutia, the chief executive added.