WASHINGTON, October 18 (Sputnik) -
* Russia remains open to strategic arms control dialogue despite the United States devaluing such efforts, Russian Deputy Representative on Disarmament at the UN First Committee Konstantin Vorontsov said on Monday.
* The United States is ready to quickly start negotiations on a new arms control framework to replace the New Strategic Arms Control Treaty (New START) when it expires in 2026, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control Mallory Stewart said.
* The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that a Su-34 aircraft crashed in the southern city of Yeysk during a training flight earlier in the day and the pilots have safely ejected from the aircraft.
* The number of people killed after the jet crashed in Yeysk has increased to three, Anna Minkova, the deputy governor of the Krasnodar region, said.
* Six people are missing following a fire at an apartment building in Yeysk, the department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Krasnodar Territory said.
* Gas futures in Europe are declining by more than 9% on Monday, falling below $1,300 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since June 20, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange.
* EU spending on gas imports nearly quadrupled year-on-year to 75 billion Euros ($73.6 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, with nearly third of that sum, or 23 billion euros, were spent of gas from Russia, the European Commission said on Monday in its quarterly gas report.
* Gazprom's gas exports to non-CIS countries decreased by 41.4% year-on-year to 89.3 billion cubic meters i9n the period from January 1 to October 15, the company said.
* Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Fomin discussed the "food deal" with UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths at talks in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and representatives of the United Nations discussed the implementation of the UN-brokered grain deal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
* The secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has held positive and constructive discussions on grain and fertilizer exports with Russian officials in Moscow, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
* Canada has expanded its economic sanctions on Russia by targeting 34 people and Russian television network tv Zvezda for their involvement in what Ottawa says is spreading "propaganda," Global Affairs said in a press release on Monday.
* The United States and the United Kingdom agreed to deepen cooperation on implementing sanctions against Russia and other countries, director of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Andrea Gacki and the head of the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) Giles Thomson said.
* The EU foreign ministers have discussed reports on the alleged supply of Iranian drones to Russia at a meeting in Luxembourg and will continue to collect evidence, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
* Russia rules out the possibility of demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and surrounding areas as the facility needs protection, Deputy Representative on Disarmament at the UN First Committee Konstantin Vorontsov said on Monday.
* Russia has returned from Ukraine 110 individuals, including 72 sailors, after a prisoners' exchange, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
* The Russian Armed Forces carried out regular strikes with precision-guided weapons at military command and control facilities and the military command and energy system of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
