Russia foreign minister in Gulf for Qatar crisis talks

Russia's foreign minister is in Kuwait for the first leg in a three-nation tour of Gulf Arab states over the ongoing Qatar diplomatic crisis.

Sergey Lavrov's visit to Kuwait City on Monday marks the first high-level diplomatic visit by Russia over the crisis, which began on 5 June. 

Lavrov also will visit Qatar and the UAE on his trip.

Kuwait's ruler has tried to mediate an end to a blockade by four Arab nations against Qatar, as have the US, France and other world powers.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began their boycott after accusing Qatar of funding extremist groups and having close ties with Iran.

Qatar has long denied funding extremists and just recently returned its ambassador back to Tehran, 20 months after breaking ties.