US invites Dalai Lama to National Prayer Breakfast
The United States has invited anti-China Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama to attend the National Prayer Breakfast next week in Washington, the White House said on Friday.
The public event will be held on Thursday and US President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech during the ceremony.
"The president will deliver remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said. "This year, the organizers also invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama."
“As he has done in the past, the President will see many religious leaders at the event, but we don't have any specific meeting with the Dalai Lama to announce," Meehan stated.
The event will mark the first time that the Tibetan spiritual leader appears in public with the US president, a move viewed by Beijing as interference in Chinese domestic affairs.
Previous meetings have been held behind closed doors and outside the Oval Office.
In February 2014, Obama met the Dalai Lama in the Map Room of the White House, which is within the residence compared to the West Wing where most presidential business is conducted.
The previous meetings were designed to limit the diplomatic disagreement with China.
Beijing says the Dalai Lama tries to split Tibet from the rest of China, accusing him of triggering unrest in the region.
Chinese officials have said that the Tibetan issue is China’s domestic affair and the US interference will gravely sabotage Beijing-Washington relations.
AT/GJH
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