Dalai Lama hopes to meet Obama in Nov: statement

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) - – The Dalai Lama hopes to meet Barack ObamaBarack Obama after the US president's maiden presidential trip to China in November, according to a statement issued after talks with US officials Monday.

The statement from the Tibetan spiritual leader's office appeared to end speculation about whether the Nobel Peace Prize winner would meet Obama during a scheduled trip from India to the United States next month.

It said three Obama aides met the Dalai LamaDalai Lama in the northern hilltop town of Dharamshala in India on Monday and discussed ways that Washington can "assist in the resolution for the Tibetan issue".

"His Holiness is looking forward to meeting President Obama after his visit to China," the statement added after the talks with the US delegation led by White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.

The team also included Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Maria Otero, and Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to Obama's senior advisor for inter-governmental relations, a Tibetan spokesman said.

It is the highest-level group of US officials to travel to Dharamashala since March 2008, when US House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi met the Dalai Lama here following a wave of unrest in Tibet.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who visited the US in May, is scheduled to fly to Canada and the United States later this month.

China, which considers the Dalai Lama a "splittist" despite his repeated calls for autonomy rather than independence for Tibet, has stepped up pressure on world leaders including Obama not to meet him.

A face-to-face contact would be sure to spark an angry response and potentially undermine Obama's hopes of building stronger relations between the United States and China.

Obama is scheduled to make his first presidential visit to Beijing in November.

The statement said Jarrett reiterated Obama's "commitment to support the Tibetan people in protecting their distinct religious, linguistic, and cultural heritage and securing respect for their human rights and civil liberties."

"Jarrett also discussed with His Holiness on the best way the US could assist in the resolution for the Tibetan issue, particularly in the light of the first visit by President Obama to China in November," it said.

On Sunday, she met with leaders of influential Tibetan groups.

"What we expect is some concrete steps by the Obama administration and we hope the United States will walk the extra mile on our behalf while dealing with China," Tibetan Youth Congress President Tsewang Rinzin told AFP.

"During my meeting with Jarrett, I also referenced Obama's public address that the US will continue to fight for oppressed people," Rinzin said.

The 74-year-old Dalai Lama kicks off his trip to North America with a public address in Memphis on September 23, spends the next two days in Long Beach in California and then attends a "Peace Summit" in Vancouver, Canada.

He returns to the United States for a week beginning October 4 and is scheduled to visit New York and Washington to lead Buddhist preachings and attend a seminar, according to his official website www.dalailama.com.

Every US president has met the Dalai Lama since former president George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush in 1991.

The Buddhist leader fled to India 50 years ago as China crushed an abortive uprising in Tibet.