Qatar Emir to meet Merkel in first Western visit since start of Saudi-led blockade

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for talks next week.

The trip, set to take place on Sept 15, will be Sheikh Tamim's first trip to a western capital since Saudi Arabia and its allies broke off diplomatic contact with Doha in June.

Merkel's spokesman said he did not immediately have any details about the planned meeting.

But the talks are expected to be dominated by the fate of the Qatar crisis.

The emir's visit to Berlin comes as Kuwait is seeking to help broker an end to the quagmire, and a day after US President Donald Trump offered to play mediator in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia as well as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to Iran.

The Saudi-led bloc also shut down air, maritime and land links and imposed economic sanctions on Qatar.

The gas-rich emirate denies the claims and accuses the four countries of attacking its sovereignty.