Bloomberg reported that US administration officials are talking with their counterparts in Qatar and other countries about the possibility of supplying Europe with natural gas if the Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to a shortage of supplies.

Bloomberg quoted two informed sources as saying that US President Joe Biden intends to invite the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to visit the White House, and it is likely that the visit will be later this month, according to the network.

A White House official said that preparations for the meeting between the US President and the Emir of Qatar have been going on for some time.

And some European countries have expressed fears that punishing Russia with harsh sanctions because of the Ukrainian crisis will damage their economies and prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to cut or reduce gas supplies in the middle of winter.

Europe gets more than 40% of its natural gas from Russia, and about a third of Russian gas flowing to Europe passes through Ukraine.

Qatar is the world's largest exporter of gas, and one of the largest producers of liquefied natural gas, with about three-quarters of the fuel sold to energy-poor Asian countries such as Japan and Korea.

Qatar provides about 5% of the natural gas in Europe.