WASHINGTON, October 8 (Sputnik) -
* French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he has proposed the EU countries to conduct a coordinated operation to ensure the security of key gas infrastructure in the North and Baltic Seas.
* Russia will study the possibility of holding an independent investigation of the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, the Russian Embassy in Copenhagen said.
* European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that EU will allocate 2 billion Euros ($1.96 billion) of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the upcoming days.
* German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposes the use of nuclear weapons, German government spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said, commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's remark about NATO's "preemptive" strikes on Russia.
* Zelenskyy's statements about preventive strikes against Russia are inadequate and unacceptable, Moscow will monitor the reaction of his Western patrons to these words, Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy head of Russia's delegation, said at a meeting of the UN General Assembly First Committee.
* Gas futures in Europe fell below $1,550 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since July 21, losing up to 14%, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange.
* Dutch gas network operator Gasunie said Friday that the Netherlands need not see shortages in winter if Russian gas flow stops for a year, provided other imports stay high and consumption low.
* The Serbian authorities are considering connecting to the Druzhba oil pipeline in Hungary in light of the new package of EU sanctions against Moscow, which prevents the delivery of Russian oil through Croatia, the Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy said.
US ECONOMIC RESTRICTIONS ON CHINA
* The US Department of Commerce added 31 Chinese companies and entities to its "unverified" export control list in what could be a first step toward adding them to its economic blacklist, according to a Federal registry notice.
* The United States has expanded controls on exports of supercomputers and semiconductors with respect to 28 entities located in China, according to a US Commerce Department document that is scheduled to be published on October 13.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President have discussed the latest developments around Ukraine and bilateral issues during a phone conversation, the Turkish leader's office said on Friday.
* Erdogan said that he expects to hold a meeting with Putin in the upcoming three or four days.
* The United States is releasing its first new national strategy for the Arctic since 2013, establishing the country's approach to the region for the next decade, senior administration officials told reporters.
* The new US Arctic strategy seeks to position the United States to effectively compete with Russia and China in the region and to manage those tensions, a senior US administration official told reporters.
* The United States is interested in expanding work with Finland and Sweden on defense security interests in the Arctic region amid their accession into NATO, a senior US administration official told reporters.
* A new team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts has been deployed to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in the first rotation of the support and assistance personnel at the plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Friday.
* A new team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts has been deployed to the (ZNPP in the first rotation of the support and assistance personnel at the plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
