Russia to give Dalai Lama a visa
Russia has decided to grant the Dalai Lama a visa, reversing course after refusing earlier requests amid China’s objections.
The Dalai Lama would be allowed to travel to the majority-Buddhist Kalmykia republic and his visit would be of a “solely confessional character”, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko.
“We relate with respect to the desire of the more than 1 million Buddhists in our country who have appealed more than once for a pastoral visit by the Dalai Lama,” Yakovenko said.
“Bearing that in mind, and also taking into account the fact that the church is divided from the state in the Russian Federation, it was decided to give the Dalai Lama a visa to visit the Kalmyk Republic,” Yakovenko said.
He said that the Dalai Lama was scheduled to sanctify a Buddhist temple in Elista, the Kalmyk capital, and that no meetings with Russian officials were planned.
Moscow had rejected previous requests three times, saying it considers Tibet to be “an inalienable part of China”, and has refrained from any official contacts with the Dalai Lama. Yakovenko stressed that that remained Russia’s position.
“China is our strategic partner and we accord great significance to the development of Russian-Chinese relations,” he said, adding that Tibet is an internal matter for China.
China occupied Tibet in 1951 and claims the Himalayan region has been Chinese territory for centuries.
The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India after an aborted uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and travels frequently to conduct Buddhist ceremonies and seek support for his campaign for Tibetan political and cultural rights.
