Boris Johnson visits Kuwait and Qatar in bid to end Gulf crisis

Boris Johnson is visiting Kuwait and Qatar to support efforts to end the Gulf diplomatic crisis.

Kuwait is attempting to mediate to end the dispute which has seen Qatar isolated by its neighbours.

The Foreign Secretary is meeting his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and the country's cabinet affairs minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah.

Mr Johnson will also travel to Qatar for meetings with the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, along with the Gulf state's prime minister and foreign minister.

The Foreign Secretary is urging all parties to get behind Kuwait's mediation efforts in an effort to resolve the dispute.

On Friday, he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Mr Johnson said the UK was supporting Kuwait's efforts to broker a solution to the row which has seen Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar.

At the start of his diplomatic mission, he said: "Britain's close and historic friendship with all of the Gulf states is becoming even more relevant and important in today's volatile world.

"As our Prime Minister has said, 'the Gulf's security is our security', and we remain deeply committed to the stability of the region and to working with our friends in the Gulf to keep all of our people safe.

"These talks underline the UK's strong support for Kuwait's mediation efforts and I urge all parties to play a constructive role in order to restore the unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and severed air, land and sea links with Qatar last month.

They issued a 13-point list of demands that included cutting ties with terrorist groups, curbing relations with Iran and shutting media outlets including Al-Jazeera.

Qatar has strenuously denied that it supports extremist groups. It is refusing to close down Al-Jazeera and views the ultimatum as an affront to its sovereignty.