Qatar's energy minister told the European Union that his country could not rescue Europe alone if Russia turned off gas supplies amid spiking tensions over Ukraine. However, the minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson that Qatar was ready to help Europe "in times of need".

The United States has raised the possibility of Qatar, one of the world's leading gas producers, supplying Western European nations in talks, officials said.

The Ukraine crisis was a key topic in a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

In a video conference, Kaabi told the EU official that Qatar hoped the tensions in Europe could be resolved through diplomacy.

"Qatar stands ready to support our partners around the world in times of need," he said. But "the volume of gas needed by the EU cannot be replaced by anyone unilaterally, without disturbing supplies to other regions around the world. Europe's energy security requires a collective effort from many parties," he added.

Qatar has said it is already working at full production and experts have said Europe could only get emergency supplies if key customers in East Asia, including Japan and South Korea, agreed to divert some of their consignments.

The United States has also spoken with Australia about providing gas and could provide its own natural gas.

Without mentioning any special deliveries, Kaabi said Qatar was proud "to have never missed a single cargo delivery for the last 25 years to all our partners around the world".

"Keeping our contractual word is sacrosanct in Qatar, and therefore we have the full trust of our global commercial partners and buyers."

Industry experts have warned that European consumers, already reeling from high prices for natural gas, would have to pay even more for the special deliveries.