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DHARMSALA, India: Exiled Tibetans and China's Communist government held "serious and frank discussions" recently about the future of Tibet and agreed to continue talks aimed at finding common ground between the two sides, an envoy for the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhists' spiritual leader, said yesterday.
The envoy, Lodi Gyari, headed a delegation that returned to the Tibetan exile government's headquarters at Dharmsala in northern India on October 1 after two weeks of discussions with China.
In a statement, he described the talks, held in Beijing, as "the most extensive and serious exchange of views on matters relating to Tibet so far."
It was the third such meeting since 2002 between the Dalai Lama's envoys and the Chinese government, which claims Tibet as part of its territory and has accused the exiled leader of campaigning for independence.
While Gyari refused to divulge any details of the meetings during a news conference yesterday, in a written statement he said despite "major differences on a number of issues, including some fundamental ones, both sides agreed on the need for more substantive discussions in order to narrow down the gaps and reach a common ground." |
