European Council President Charles Michel praised Qatar on Friday as a reliable energy provider during a meeting with Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of the Gulf state
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2022) European Council President Charles Michel praised Qatar on Friday as a reliable energy provider during a meeting with Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of the Gulf state.
"The EU-Qatar partnership is multi-faceted and thriving. Qatar's reliability as energy provider is important for the EU's energy security and gas supplies," Michel tweeted.
Europe scrambled to secure energy supplies after a dispute with Russia about Ukraine occasioned fears that Moscow might stop pumping natural gas to the EU. Russia denied attempting to weaponize its vast energy resources, saying it had delivered on all contractual obligations.
The Qatari emir will travel to the United States on Monday to continue energy talks with President Joe Biden. A White House spokesperson said this week that the Biden administration was looking for alternatives to Russian gas supplies to Europe in North Africa, the middle East and Asia, as well as domestically.
More than 40% of the EU's natural gas imports came from Russia in 2019, compared to only 5% from Qatar. Russian crude accounted for 27% of overall oil deliveries to the bloc in the same year.
