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US president to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington

"The president is looking forward to engage and construct dialogue" with the Dalai Lama despite warnings from China.

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US president Barack Obama will meet Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House on February 18, notwithstanding a warning from China that the meeting could cause "further damage" to bilateral ties.

"The president is looking forward to engage and construct dialogue" with the Dalai Lama on Thursday, Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said.

This would be the first meeting between the Dalai Lama and Obama since the latter became the US president.

But Obama will hold talks with the Dalai Lama in the map room and not in the oval office. Gibbs said no US president has met the Tibetan spiritual leader in the oval office, where he usually meets visiting heads of state.

The announcement of the meeting between Obama and the 74-year-old Nobel peace laureate comes at a time when China has warned Washington that such a move could harm its ties with the US.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu asked the United States to immediately cancel Obama's plans to
meet the Dalai Lama.

"We urge the US side to fully understand the high sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, honour its commitment to recognising Tibet as part of China and opposing Tibet independence," Ma said in the statement.

The US should cancel the meeting "so as not to cause further damage to Sino-US relations", he said.

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