WASHINGTON, 24 January 2022, (TON): American officials have been in talks with Qatar over supplying European countries with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in case a Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to shortages on the continent.

Two people close to the issue told Bloomberg that President Joe Biden planned to ask the Gulf state’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to visit the White House, possibly as soon as later this month.

It added the meeting between Biden and Sheikh Tamim had been in the works for some time.

The United States is concerned Russia is preparing for the possibility of a new military assault on the country it partially invaded in 2014, while Moscow denies it plans to attack Ukraine.

The European Union depends on Russia for about one-third of its gas supplies, and US sanctions over any conflict could disrupt that supply.

Any interruptions to Russia’s gas supply to Europe would exacerbate an energy crisis caused by a shortage of the fuel.

The State Department’s discussions with energy companies were led by senior adviser for energy security Amos Hochstein, a senior US State Department official told the Reuters news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.