Amsterdam - Zimbabwe should not profit from illegal diamond trade and the European Union should investigate options to stop it, Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said Monday.

Verhagen said he would raise the issue at Monday's meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The ministers are expected to issue a ban on all EU-visas for associates of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe's government is allegedly making enormous profits from illegal diamond trade. Verhagen said it was necessary for the EU to send a "clear message" to the Zimbabwean president.

"People are being tortured, a human rights activist has disappeared without any trace, and the government blocks aid for people suffering from hunger and cholera," he said. (dpa)