WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush's special envoy will hold talks with the Dalai Lama next week in the first high level meeting between the US administration and the exiled leader since Beijing's crackdown in Tibet, the State Department said Monday.
Paula Dobriansky, Bush's special envoy for Tibet, "is going to be meeting with the Dalai Lama in Michigan on April 21st," department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.
He said officials from both sides were laying the groundwork for the meeting in which Washington would highlight its call for dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities.
"They're going to be talking about our view that the Chinese authorities ought to engage in a discussion with the Dalai Lama. We'll be interested in hearing his views on the situation there," Casey said.
The Dalai Lama arrived Thursday in Seattle on his first foreign trip, that included stops in Michigan and New York, since China's crackdown on pro-Tibet protests that drew an international outcry.
Tibet last month saw the biggest protests in years against China's controversial rule, on the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising that sent the Dalai Lama fleeing into exile in India.
Tibetan exiles claim the crackdown has left more than 150 Tibetans dead while Beijing says Tibetan "rioters" have killed 20 people in the latest disturbances in the territory.
Beijing also accused the Dalai Lama of instigating the deadly violence and of seeking to split the predominantly Buddhist territory from China.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he was only pursuing "meaningful" Tibetan autonomy and cultural freedoms within China -- and that he supports the right of Beijing to host this year's Olympics.
China's clampdown has triggered international outrage, with major protests during the Beijing Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco.
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04/14/2008 19:36 GMT