Qatar 'willing to work with' Turkey and Kuwait to calm Gulf dispute

Qatar has moved to defuse the diplomatic and economic blockade placed on it by its neighbours as the worst crisis to hit the Gulf states in 30 years entered its first full day.

The tiny energy-rich state said on Tuesday it was willing to work with mediators such as Kuwait and Turkey to try to end the dispute as Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Saber al-Ahmad al-Jabah al-Sabah, said he would travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman. Kuwait has already persuaded Qatar's emir to abandon plans for a state broadcast on Monday, arguing such a speech might be inflammatory. But in a sign that relations will not be repaired easily, Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister, said there would be no concessions until there was a clear plan setting out the steps Qatar would take to revise its foreign policies. Neighbours including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have banned Qatari planes from using their airspace, and its sole land border is closed. The blockade is a dramatic escalation of Qatar's support of Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and its perceived tolerance of Iran.

Fuelling the hard line against Qatar is fury over its alleged payment in April of a $1bn (£780m) ransom to an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria and Iranian security officials for the release of 26 members of a Qatari royal party kidnapped in December 2015 while on a falcon hunt in southern Iraq.