(IDEX Online) - Alrosa boss Sergei Ivanov has told Russia's President Vladimir Putin he's "confident" of a deal to sell millions of carats of rough to the government's Gokhran - its precious metals and gems repository.Such an arrangement would provide a lifeline for the miner, which is only now recovering from months of dismal sales as a result of the global pandemic.The Alrosa CEO met President Putin on Monday and reminded him of the presidential support given in 2008 to a similar rescue package to see it through the global financial crisis.On that occasion the Gokhran bought an estimated $1bn of Alrosa diamonds.The Russia-based Interfax news agency has previously reported that this time the Yakutia municipality, which holds a stake in Alrosa, wanted to offload $1.7bn of gems.According to a Kremlin transcript of their conversation, Mr Ivanov told the President: "You supported such a transaction during the previous crisis in 2008. "It helped the company stabilize the social situation and support the budget of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), because we are a systemically important company and our operations are critical for the budget."At the same time, in 2008, diamonds were purchased at rather low prices due to the crisis, and later, when the market recovered, the state sold them at a good price. Now, exactly the same instrument is being discussed. We are confident we will finally agree on everything soon."He also expressed the hope that sales in the fourth quarter would return to pre-Covid levels.Pic of President Putin and Mr Ivanov, courtesy The Kremlin